Destination: Mexico

LONELY PLANET'S OFFICIAL ITINERARY INFORMATION

Itinerary: Northern Deserts, Canyons & Forests

ONE MONTH

Running in a northwest-to-southeast direction across some remote areas of northern Mexico, this trip needs a month if you are to enjoy every major attraction along the 3200km route from Paquimé to El Cielo.



Awesome natural configurations and bizarre discoveries await adventurous travelers in the more remote reaches of Mexico’s north. Make the pre-Hispanic, desert trading settlement Paquimé your first goal. From here visit the renowned potters’ village Mata Ortiz. Then head south along winding roads to the pre-Hispanic cliff dwellings at Cuarenta Casas and the town of Madera, set amid the forests of the Sierra Madre Occidental.

Move southeast to Cuauhtémoc, where you can board the Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico to explore the spectacular Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon). Next, follow the footsteps of legendary revolutionary Pancho Villa through Chihuahua, Hidalgo del Parral , Canutilloand Torreón.

En route to Torreón, visit Mapimí and the ghost town of Ojuela, at the heart of a once-booming mining area. Head northeast across the deserts from Torreón for (what else?) a spot of swimming and snorkeling at the bizarrely beautiful oasis of Cuatro Ciénegas, then go south to quaff a copa of desert wine at Parras. Move on to laid-back Saltillo with its Churrigueresque cathedral and first-class desert museum. Then turn south to the magical ex–ghost town of Real de Catorce, a former silver-mining center coming back to life with annual floods of Catholic pilgrims and indigenous Huichol people (and others) seeking the hallucinogenic cactus peyote, and artists, filmmakers and other creative types. For one more natural marvel, head east for some hiking and bird-watching in the cloud forests of Reserva de la Biosfera El Cielo.