Mexico: Hiking Copper Canyon - A hiking and cultural adventure in North America's most amazing canyon system!

Day 1: Arrive in Chihuahua City

Fly to Chihuahua City, the largest city in northern Mexico (with almost 1 million inhabitants). Upon exiting the customs area, proceed to the Transportes Terrestres desk (20 feet straight ahead) and ask for a taxi to the Quality Inn (approximately $20 dollars U.S.). At the front desk of the hotel (as you check in), a welcome note from your trip leader will detail any information you might need prior to the formal trip orientation on Day 2.

Chihuahua City is the capital of the state of Chihuahua, which is the largest beef producer in Mexico. Because of this, it is the place to buy cowboy hats, belts, shirts, and boots. A stroll around the block at the hotel provides access to some of the best of this western wear. Dinner is on your own. The hotel has a restaurant that caters to most tastes, or you can sample the local cuisine at a handful of restaurants within walking distance. (The city is very safe for walking, even at night.) “Los Mezquites” on Avenida Cuauhtemoc offers fine steaks. If you want go where the locals go, grab a taxi and head for “La Mandala,” a restaurant/coffee bar on a hill with a commanding view of the city and outdoor seating (complete with blankets!).

Day 2: Cusárare

After breakfast on your own, we’ll have an orientation at 8:00 a.m. in the hotel lobby, and then drive 4 hours to Creel, an old lumber and cowboy town in the high sierra. Continue 25 minutes to Cusárare and a rustic lodge amid Tarahumara farms along the Cusárare River. Situated at an elevation of 7,200' in pine forest just west of the continental divide, we are in the heart of Tarahumara lands. After check-in and lunch, we will hike 2-3 miles above the lodge through Tarahumara fields to view Cusárare Cave (still in use!), which contains numerous large pictographs. Continuing on, we’ll top out on a forested mesa that provides dramatic views of the surrounding highlands. Return to the lodge for margaritas and dinner. A crackling fire and oil lamps await everyone in their rooms (the area has no electricity). You will also find large comforters on the beds and thick terrycloth robes in the bathrooms to help ward off the chill of the crisp sierra nights.

Lunch, Dinner / Sierra Lodge

Day 3: Cusárare

After breakfast, we bid farewell to our friends in the sierra and strike out on the 4-hour road adventure (driving time—with lunch and photo stops—is approximately 6 hours), touted by some as the most scenic in North America. Along the way, we will stop at some of the more dramatic vistas as we transition from pine-clad highlands to subtropical lowlands. Our destination is Batopilas (1,640'), a historic Mexican mining pueblo of some 1,100 people strung along the river’s edge in the bottom of Batopilas Canyon. Despite the wealth of silver removed from the area over the centuries, Batopilas remained little known or visited, and still retains much of its wild character. The road arrived in only 1978, and burro trails, horse trails, and footpaths are abundant once you leave the canyon floor, making it a perfect base for hiking.

We arrive at the Hacienda Batopilas in the mid-afternoon. Located on the outskirts of town, the hacienda is a fairly new building with 10 spacious guest rooms, each with beautifully tiled bathrooms. Outdoor seating areas provide wonderful views of the river and are a great place to relax or read. After check-in, we will walk the last 3 miles of the “Camino Real,” the trail that brought goods in and silver out, and which still serves as a highway for many locals. Paralleled by a flume for the entire length, there are numerous points of historical interest, as well as outstanding scenery (and it’s in the shade!). Return to the hacienda for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Sierra Lodge

Day 4: Batopilas

Today local guide Manuel Gill joins our journey to share his wealth of knowledge about local flora, fauna, and history. After a short drive, we arrive at the trailhead to beautiful Mesa San Jose—a five-hour loop trail offering stunning vistas (and “Kodak moments”!) of wild Batopilas below, Mesa Yerbaniz across the canyon, and Mesa Quimoa in the far distance. After a break to relax in the shade of some old oak trees, we’ll continue on through the small village of Mesa San Jose and then up to a saddle with more great views overlooking Río Urique, which snakes through its rugged namesake Urique Canyon (another perfect backdrop for dramatic photos). Here, we will take a short snack break and then make the final push to the top of the mesa for lunch at El Madroña, whose awe-inspiring cliff views will prompt you to drag out the camera again! For our afternoon hike, we’ll wind down the back side of the mesa, climbing over an old trinchero (rock fence) to an opening with views of the Río San Miguel and the lower reaches of the Sinforosa. Continuing on, we get yet another perspective on Barranca Batopilas—this one perhaps the most impressive of all, with the canyon bottom seen far below, the Sierras cutting high across the canyon, and the faint billow of smoke rising from the village of Yoquiuo. After our hike, we return to the hacienda for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Hacienda Batopilas

Day 5: Mesa de San Jose

Joined again by guide Manuel Gill, we walk straight from the Hacienda Batopilas to the ruins of Hacienda San Miguel, once the headquarters of silver magnate Alexander Shepherd. As we wind our way around the hacienda, whose old adobe walls are adorned with vibrant bougainvillea, Manuel will recount the history of the building, as well as his own family’s history with the mining operation. After the tour, we’ll cross the iron bridge over the Batopilas River to stroll through the historic old town square of Batopilas. Here we’ll enjoy lunch and perhaps visit the square’s classic bandstand and regional museum. After lunch, we walk 4 miles along the Batopilas River to Satevó’s “lost cathedral,” a dusty church with a great red dome. Next, we drive back to Batopilas and to browse through a unique shop just off the square with silver and other curios. Those who wish may walk back to Batopilas. Dinner and overnight at the hacienda.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Hacienda Batopilas

Day 6: Huimayvo

Guide Manuel Gill joins us once more as we drive one hour to the trailhead and hike 7-9 miles roundtrip (depending upon optional extension near the end of the walk) into a deep side canyon of the Batopilas to the tiny Tarahumara village of Huimayvo, hidden beneath the canyon’s towering walls. The scenery is stunning, complemented by a sparkling river that cuts through the gorge along the trail. This narrow defile creates a unique microclimate that supports lush, semi-tropical vegetation not found in other areas, and offers opportunities for rare bird sightings like the eared quetzal. We will visit the home of Laurencio, a lifelong native of Huimayvo, and talk with him about life in this incredible canyon. With his family, he farms and tends orchards, growing corn, beans, papaya, mango, avocado, sidra, bananas, and oranges to trade with other Tarahumara or sell to people in the highlands. The dichotomy of traditional ways and the encroaching modern world is evident in the metate and mano (grinding tools) his wife uses to grind corn and the oscillating sprinkler fashioned from old truck parts used to irrigate fields. We will then continue up the trail to have lunch along the river, followed by a visit to the home of Herculano, where we may be fortunate enough to buy a handcrafted violin or possibly a woven basket. Return to the hacienda for dinner and overnight.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Hacienda Batopilas

Day 7: Drive to Cusarare, stopping along the way for an incredible rim overlook hike

After breakfast, we begin the return to Cusárare with the spectacular drive out of Batopilas Canyon. Upon reaching the village of Quirare (nestled in the valley just above the canyon rim), we will hike 3-4 hours roundtrip to a beautiful rim overlook of the stunning Huimayvo drainage and the tiny cluster of Tarahumara houses far below through which we passed the day before. A hot lunch awaits us when we return to the van. After lunch, we continue two hours to the Sierra Lodge, arriving in the late afternoon. Prior to margaritas and dinner, there will be time to relax on the front porch of the lodge or in front of the fire in the dining room. We enjoy our last night in the Copper Canyon region before heading back to the “big city” of Chihuahua.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Sierra Lodge

Day 8: Valley of the Monks & Return to Chihuahua City

After a leisurely breakfast, those that are interested in an optional side trip to “Divisadero” (approximately 2 hours, finishing in Creel) will depart the lodge. This is the canyon rim overlook stop on the famed Chihuahua al Pacifico train run, and provides dramatic views of Copper Canyon proper. The remainder of the group will have time for a short hike or to relax before heading to Creel in the late morning. In Creel, everyone will have an opportunity to explore the town and buy souvenirs before we drive 20 minutes to an area called the “valley of the monks,” where we will have a picnic lunch. This valley is a hidden little pocket of eroded rock pillars, and provides easy access (20 minutes on foot) to an overlook of the Río Conchos from the continental divide. Of all the rivers draining the sierra, the Conchos is the only one that flows east to the Gulf of Mexico. After lunch, we drive to Chihuahua (4 hours), arriving at the Quality Inn in the late afternoon. We conclude the trip with a festive farewell dinner in the city.

Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner / Quality Inn

Day 9: Fly Home

Transfer to the airport and depart on homeward-bound flights.

Breakfast

Keith Albritton

Keith Albritton was raised in Wisconsin, but has always had a passion for mountain and desert environments. Armed with boundless curiosity and a degree in geography, he headed west in the mid-eighties to begin what has now become a twenty plus year career as a field naturalist and wilderness guide. An interest in birds first carried him to Mexico in 1986 (where he now runs MTS Copper Canyon offerings), as well as other work stints in Belize and the Galapagos. When not working south of the border, Keith splits time between Salida, Colorado and a cabin in Wisconsin's northwoods.

Jon Bohach

Jon has been guiding rivers throughout the United States, Mexico and Central America for over 21 years. He has logged over 10,000 river miles on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho, the Rio Grande, the Arkansas, and many others. His experience in Copper Canyon, Mexico began in 1978 when he travelled through the canyon on the old train. It had wooden benches and was covered with Tarahumara Indians riding on top. He’s since assisted in projects to collect endangered species of cactus and studied medicinal desert plants. He also made one first descent, canyoneering a 35 mile section of the upper Oteros in the northern section of Copper Canyon. He began guiding in Northern Mexico in 1994. He remains fascinated by its rich history, tradition, art , and the unique cuisine. He continues to return over and over again, inspired by the people that live in this place and the people that he guides. Jon is full of stories from a lifetime of adventure.

There are three distinct temperature zones you will be visiting on this adventure. The first is Chihuahua City, which is generally quite nice during the day (70°-90°F) and comfortable at night (45°-60°F).  The second area is the Copper Canyon highlands, where we stay for 3 nights at the Sierra Lodge. This is at 7,200 feet elevation and is wonderful hiking weather during the day (60°-75°F), but gets quite cool at night (25°-45°F). The last area is the three nights we stay in Batopilas (1,640 feet elevation), where the average daytime temperatures are 70°-90°F and nighttime is a perfect 50°-65°F.   

Please note that during December and January it is quite cool in Cusárare (it can dip well below freezing at night), and we will only be spending a total of 2 nights here (instead of 3), and 4 nights in Batopilas (instead of 3).  On the December and January trips, we may encounter some snow in the high sierra (Cusárare), but never more than a couple of inches and it usually melts off very quickly, whereas the weather in Batopilas is quite comfortable.