Info on Copper Canyon Mexico

We are planning to take the train thru the Copper Canyon in Mexico. Any
assistance on the best time to go and stopovers and sights in the Canyons
would be appreciated.

"Don Howe" wrote in message
news:zK8xb.499858$6C4.13032@pd7tw1no...

We are planning to take the train thru the Copper Canyon in Mexico. Any
assistance on the best time to go and stopovers and sights in the Canyons
would be appreciated.

I don't know if there any best times. The best part of the Copper Canyon
train trip is the section between Creel and Boca. The rest is just about all
flat open country and my personal opinion is that you need to be a major
train buff to enjoy that part of it. Copper Canyon is really a series of
canyons and some of the places in that area are just as interesting, if not
more so, than the places you can reach by train. I particularly enjoyed
Batopilias. The narrow gravel road that drops 7,000 feet to the canyon floor
is not for those who have a fear of heights, but the scenery is spectacular.
Batopilias is very rustic and quite charming. There are a number of small
inns there. I enjoyed the Casa Monse which over looks the river.

My personal opinion is that the best way to see the really scenic parts
of the Copper Canyon train ride is to board the train in Creel and ride down
to El Fuerte or one of the small towns in the canyon. Temoris looked to be
interesting but I didn't have the time to stop there when I was through
there. According to my somewhat unreliable guidebook accomodations for
visitors are limited there. El Fuerte is reported to have nice hotels and
restaurants. If you can I'd suggest stopping in Divisadero for longer than
the 15 minute stop over the train allows. The view of the canyon is
spectacular there and it's a good place to shop for baskets and other
Tarahumara crafts. The meals being cooked for the train passengers on up
turned steel drums are also interesting (and tasty). The next time I'm in
that area I'll either grab a bus in El Fuerte or ride the train back to
Creel. The long slow trip from Los Mochis to El Fuerte can be interesting in
the morning when you're looking into the backyard of all the small homes
built along the tracks near Los Mochis, but coming back into town at night I
found that section very tedious.

There is both a first class and second class train. Second class is
clean and comfortable, but the food service is very limited, so you should
pack a big lunch. Most of the locals and quite a few tourists ride that one
and it's what I would recommend unless you have an aversion to rubbing
shoulders with the locals.

I enjoyed the area around Creel. You'll see little sawmills in that
area of a sort that vanished from the Pacific Northwest nearly 50 years ago.
Basaseachic falls is a nice side trip. If you're in that area the Menonite
country near Cuauhtemoc is interesting. The Menonites make a justly famous
mild cheese as well as many other enterprises. Their restaurants are an
interesting blend of cultures.


Dennis

I don't know if there any best times...

I can tell you that if you are going in the summer and planning to
visit the towns in the bottom of the canyon, be prepared for
Phoenix-like heat. But I'm a tourist for all seasons, so any time is a
good time to go to Copper Canyon for me, even in winter when it's
pretty dang cold in Creel.

The best part...is the section between Creel and Boca.

The good parts of the canyon from a train standpoint are considered to
be west of Creel, and the last time I took the train a couple of years
ago, one didn't get to this part of the trip until after dark (except
during summer). So summer perhaps does have that advantage. One
particularly nice part of the canyon for hiking is La Barranca de
Sinforosa, but it involved a long bus ride to Guachochic and spending
two nights there, which back then had NO redeeming features and
probably still doesn't. But the birdwatching was great and I'd
consider going back if my wife weren't so comfort-loving (I did the
trip when I was single).

...Batopilias.

The bus ride to Batopilas is spectacular. I recall that we left early
in the morning, got there about 2 pm, and because of the bus schedule,
one had to either leave the next morning, or stay at least one more
night as returns buses only go every other day. Again, I don't know if
my info is accurate, but a few years back there was one $300/night
hotel as well as a couple of $3 a night places (I stayed in the
latter, la Casa de Monsé). I helped an English outdoor ed course find
and then negotiate with a guide to take them on a several-day long
trip through the mountains.

...see the really scenic parts...is to board the train in Creel...

I'd take the bus to Creel since it's fast and there are many
departures daily out of Chihuahua and as noted, the trip's somewhat
scenic and interesting (if you''re not used to riding old trains), but
the area W of Creel is better. Creel has gotten to be quite an ugly
place (and I'm talking about attitude since it has become overrun by
gringos; even Margarita's niece cheated me last time I was there), but
I'd stay in Creel the first night, and then spend most of my time
visiting outlying villages like Batopilas.

The long slow trip from Los Mochis to El Fuerte can be interesting...

Unfortunately I don't recall anything "interesting" about Los Mochis.
But once many, many years ago a friend and I took the train to Los
Mochis over Christmas. Out in the middle of the sierra, another train
derailed in front of us, blocking our path to Mochis, so we have to
wait several hours at the site for another train from Mochis, then we
walked around the derailment and got on the "new" train to continue
our journey. Except the new train has NO heat and all the windows were
cracked. We froze our buttocks off, but it was kind of funny. The
blanketed and the blanketless all huddled together in groups all the
way to Mochis, passing around bottles of pulque to keep warm.

There is both a first class and second class train.

I hope this is still true, because second class was so much better
than first class. First class is sterile and as you mention, there are
hardly any locals. Second class was fine and cost much, much less.
Instead of buying ticket in advance, we simply showed at the station
in Chihuahua and got on...no problema.

"Jon" wrote in message
m...

The bus ride to Batopilas is spectacular. I recall that we left early
in the morning, got there about 2 pm, and because of the bus schedule,
one had to either leave the next morning, or stay at least one more
night as returns buses only go every other day. Again, I don't know if
my info is accurate, but a few years back there was one $300/night
hotel as well as a couple of $3 a night places (I stayed in the
latter, la Casa de Monsé). I helped an English outdoor ed course find
and then negotiate with a guide to take them on a several-day long
trip through the mountains.

I missed the $300/night place. There's a very plain looking little hotel
near the Casa Monse. There's an older very picturesque building that's been
converted to a hotel in the middle of town. We also saw a nice little inn on
the side of town where you come in. I believe there are others, but it's
been awhile. There are at least two restaurants in town. We ate at the
charming little Casa by the Bridge, which is both the name of the place and
directions to it. Interestingly the restaurants were the only places in town
you could buy a beer, even the tienda didn't carry alcohol, and we very much
wanted a couple of cold beers after the drive down.

I'd take the bus to Creel since it's fast and there are many
departures daily out of Chihuahua and as noted, the trip's somewhat
scenic and interesting (if you''re not used to riding old trains), but
the area W of Creel is better. Creel has gotten to be quite an ugly
place (and I'm talking about attitude since it has become overrun by
gringos; even Margarita's niece cheated me last time I was there), but
I'd stay in Creel the first night, and then spend most of my time
visiting outlying villages like Batopilas.

I'm sorry to hear that. We tried to stay at Margarita's the last time
we were there, but they were full. They sent us to a nicer place that also
had excellent meals that were very reasonably priced if you bought them with
your room.


Dennis

...We tried to stay at Margarita's the last time we were there...

It was only $5 or so, but it was kind of a shock. After all, I'd
stayed there on and off since the 1980's, and at least one time we
paid the full price without getting any of our meals because Margarita
didn't have any money. We just said, "No problema." I recall that on
one trip Margarita had just built a big fancy new motel...at which *no
one* was staying (plus someone else had just built a giant KOA
campground), and it looked like there were far more hotels than the
market can support. In any case, Creel is not a place I dread going
through, but it definitely has lost ALL of its charm and I'd mostly
use it for a base from which to go elsewhere.

Technobarbarian wrote:
*"Don Howe" wrote in message
news:zK8xb.499858$6C4.13032@pd7tw1no...

We are planning to take the train thru the Copper Canyon in Mexico.
Any
assistance on the best time to go and stopovers and sights in the
Canyons
would be appreciated.

I don't know if there any best times. The best part of the Copper
Canyon
train trip is the section between Creel and Boca. The rest is just
about all
flat open country and my personal opinion is that you need to be a
major
train buff to enjoy that part of it. Copper Canyon is really a series
of
canyons and some of the places in that area are just as interesting,
if not
more so, than the places you can reach by train. I particularly
enjoyed
Batopilias. The narrow gravel road that drops 7,000 feet to the
canyon floor
is not for those who have a fear of heights, but the scenery is
spectacular.
Batopilias is very rustic and quite charming. There are a number of
small
inns there. I enjoyed the Casa Monse which over looks the river.

My personal opinion is that the best way to see the really scenic
parts
of the Copper Canyon train ride is to board the train in Creel and
ride down
to El Fuerte or one of the small towns in the canyon. Temoris looked
to be
interesting but I didn't have the time to stop there when I was
through
there. According to my somewhat unreliable guidebook accomodations
for
visitors are limited there. El Fuerte is reported to have nice hotels
and
restaurants. If you can I'd suggest stopping in Divisadero for longer
than
the 15 minute stop over the train allows. The view of the canyon is
spectacular there and it's a good place to shop for baskets and
other
Tarahumara crafts. The meals being cooked for the train passengers on
up
turned steel drums are also interesting (and tasty). The next time
I'm in
that area I'll either grab a bus in El Fuerte or ride the train back
to
Creel. The long slow trip from Los Mochis to El Fuerte can be
interesting in
the morning when you're looking into the backyard of all the small
homes
built along the tracks near Los Mochis, but coming back into town at
night I
found that section very tedious.

There is both a first class and second class train. Second class is
clean and comfortable, but the food service is very limited, so you
should
pack a big lunch. Most of the locals and quite a few tourists ride
that one
and it's what I would recommend unless you have an aversion to
rubbing
shoulders with the locals.

I enjoyed the area around Creel. You'll see little sawmills in that
area of a sort that vanished from the Pacific Northwest nearly 50
years ago.
Basaseachic falls is a nice side trip. If you're in that area the
Menonite
country near Cuauhtemoc is interesting. The Menonites make a justly
famous
mild cheese as well as many other enterprises. Their restaurants are
an
interesting blend of cultures.


Dennis *


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nutgrass103
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Technobarbarian wrote:
*"Don Howe" wrote in message
news:zK8xb.499858$6C4.13032@pd7tw1no...

We are planning to take the train thru the Copper Canyon in Mexico.
Any
assistance on the best time to go and stopovers and sights in the
Canyons
would be appreciated.

I don't know if there any best times. The best part of the Copper
Canyon
train trip is the section between Creel and Boca. The rest is just
about all
flat open country and my personal opinion is that you need to be a
major
train buff to enjoy that part of it. Copper Canyon is really a series
of
canyons and some of the places in that area are just as interesting,
if not
more so, than the places you can reach by train. I particularly
enjoyed
Batopilias. The narrow gravel road that drops 7,000 feet to the
canyon floor
is not for those who have a fear of heights, but the scenery is
spectacular.
Batopilias is very rustic and quite charming. There are a number of
small
inns there. I enjoyed the Casa Monse which over looks the river.

My personal opinion is that the best way to see the really scenic
parts
of the Copper Canyon train ride is to board the train in Creel and
ride down
to El Fuerte or one of the small towns in the canyon. Temoris looked
to be
interesting but I didn't have the time to stop there when I was
through
there. According to my somewhat unreliable guidebook accomodations
for
visitors are limited there. El Fuerte is reported to have nice hotels
and
restaurants. If you can I'd suggest stopping in Divisadero for longer
than
the 15 minute stop over the train allows. The view of the canyon is
spectacular there and it's a good place to shop for baskets and
other
Tarahumara crafts. The meals being cooked for the train passengers on
up
turned steel drums are also interesting (and tasty). The next time
I'm in
that area I'll either grab a bus in El Fuerte or ride the train back
to
Creel. The long slow trip from Los Mochis to El Fuerte can be
interesting in
the morning when you're looking into the backyard of all the small
homes
built along the tracks near Los Mochis, but coming back into town at
night I
found that section very tedious.

There is both a first class and second class train. Second class is
clean and comfortable, but the food service is very limited, so you
should
pack a big lunch. Most of the locals and quite a few tourists ride
that one
and it's what I would recommend unless you have an aversion to
rubbing
shoulders with the locals.

I enjoyed the area around Creel. You'll see little sawmills in that
area of a sort that vanished from the Pacific Northwest nearly 50
years ago.
Basaseachic falls is a nice side trip. If you're in that area the
Menonite
country near Cuauhtemoc is interesting. The Menonites make a justly
famous
mild cheese as well as many other enterprises. Their restaurants are
an
interesting blend of cultures.


Dennis *


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View this thread: 57126