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[jg]

Hello,

I am a friend are planning a vacation in Mexico - somewhere within 7 or so hours by bus of the border, as we will likely be taking a bus from either Nogales or TJ. I live in southern California so flying into Mexico DF would be much more expensive than just jumping on a bus (I guess).

I have always been interested in Copper Canyon, but is there a cheaper train? I saw the prices for the First Class and its a bit of a budget buster.

We both speak Spanish and are seasoned travelers, and we both lived in South America so we're interested in doing more than touring old churches and watching folklore dances, etc... a city with a nice student/cafe/artsy kinda district and some decent areas to stroll around in, eat street food - that would be suitable. Maybe some kind of cool festival, whatever...

Thanks in advance!!!

jg

[chola]

I went through the Canyon 2 years ago, in January...It was cold. I would highly recommend a visit to the region. For sure, take the van trip from Creel to Batopilas, you will be blown away. It is literally, breathtaking. We had one guy from TJ in our group who was so scared that at one point he blurted out "I don't wanna die a virgin"! We went on a hike, got lost, wandered through an amazing valley of rock formations and luckily were picked up by a driver who took us back to town. The train ride, I thought, was a little disappointing after the spectacular views we had from the van trip. There are lots of places to say in Creel. I'd recommend Casa Margarita, a nice, warm hostel with lots of international travellers.

[jg]

How much was the train, and did you ride first class? What other train trips might you recommend?

I am guessing that you came from within Mexico to get to Creel?

[lozwich]

You don't have to go first class on the train, second class is fine, and there's a stop at a place called Divisadero where you can get the best gorditas in the universe. The view is pretty nice too.

There's no point going both ways by train, unless you have some spare cash lying around. There's a bunch of buses from Chihuahua to Creel every day, and pass through some interestingly flat areas. Coming from Chihuahua to Creel on the train isn't much, all the most breathtaking views are on the Los Mochis - Creel side.

Don't go in winter unless you like freezing your bottom off, even if you're staying at Margaritas you'll be cold, and when I last stayed there, the pipes were frozen every morning, which means the toilets couldn't be flushed. Gross!

Go horse riding with El Aventurero (his real name's Norberto) and go and see Salvador and Ivan at Los 3 Amigos if you want to hire a car or bikes.

[chola]

Don't know if you've seen this site, but it might be helpful.

http://www.surf-mexico.com/states/Chihuahua/chepe.htm

It was pretty cold, in the morning and at night but we had no plumbing problems. Our room was nice and cozy and there was lots of hot water. We did take the first class train, but it was late too, a problem with the 2nd class train, go figure. I came from El Paso and bused to Chihauaha city then onto Creel. Sorry, don't remember the costs. Check out the bus lines.
http://www.differentworld.com/mexico/common/pages/bus_info.htm

[jg]

Thanks for the helpful replies everyone. Probably my friend and I will meet up in Chihuahua (i'm guessing Chihuahua City) and take a bus to Creel, then hop on the train from there.

How about lodgings while at the bottom of the canyon, are there low cost places available? What else might we get up to in that general region, any other places of note around Chihuahua?

chola wrote:

[lozwich]

Batopilas isn't a stop on the train; you go there as a side trip from Creel. Its at the bottom of the canyon.

There's gazillions of tourist websites about the Copper Canyon (in English and Spanish) that have details of hotels and also places like Batopilas. A Google should find them pretty quickly.

[chola]

Batopilas Canyon,

Batopilas is the canyon with the greatest history of silver mining. The mining towns nestled in its depths are its main attraction, and include the towns of Batopilas and Cerro Colorado.

In Batopilas we find some interesting architectural productions of the mining era such as the San Miguel Hacienda, which was home to the American silver magnate Alexander Shepherd, the Temple of the Virgin of Carmen, Casa Barffuson, Casa Bigleer and Casa Morales, as well as the Sor Juana In�s School, housed in a building erected in the late 18th C. that was, at one time, a company store.

In nearby Cerro Colorado, accessible from Batopilas by foot or on horseback, one can see the remains of structures such as tunnels, drainage and irrigation ditches and canals, bridges and mills.

Batopilas Canyon can be accessed by road from Creel or from Guachochi. Taking the Samachique turnoff, it is then a 55 km trip winding down into the depths of the chasm - it takes about 3 hours to cover that distance. There is a minibus service from Creel. From La Bufa overlook along the route, one has a view down 1,300 meters to the town of Batopilas and the La Bufa mine.

check out the websites, there's tons more info...also most travel guide books have schedules for el chepe....good luck!