Barrancas del cobre: Roadrunner Country

Travel by train through ravines up to 400 meters deeper than the Grand Canyon. Some of the indigenous inhabitants still live in traditional cave dwellings, far from the crush of civilization.

TEXT: JULIÁN ISTILART
PHOTOS: CARLOS SANCHEZ PEREYRA

In an area as large as the United Kingdom, the state of Chihuahua in the north of Mexico brings together the diverse cultures of ranch life, the indigenous Tarahumara people, the neighboring U.S. and a few random additions, like Dutch Mennonites. The region’s geography is no less of a contrast. Along one 30-mile stretch of rail, you’ll pass pine forests, a cactus-laden desert and even a tropical oasis at the bottom of a ravine.

After departure from the state capital of Chihuahua, the town of Cuauhtémoc is a primary point of interest through the Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon) en route to the Sierra Tarahumara. Cuauhtémoc could have been the set for Back to the Future III. Past storefronts displaying Old West-style cowboy boots and canteens, you’ll spot vans with polarized window, pumped-up Bigfoot tires and ranchera music blaring full blast.

The terrain becomes steeper as the train passes between two hillsides where revolutionary armies once hid to rob wagons and establish their advance guard, circa 1915. Through Candameña Canyon, the tightest squeeze of this sierra, you reach Parque Nacional Cascada de Basaseachi (Basaseachi Falls National Park), where you can admire an 820-foot waterfall from the top of the narrow pass. On the other side, during rainy season, the 1,470-foot Piedra Volada Falls forms the eleventh highest waterfall in the world. If you shout, the echo will multiply against every gorge surrounding the lookout. And in the afternoon, human shadows project to fill the canyon wall, which stands nearly 1,000 feet high. The only lodging on the reserve is the Cabañas Rancho San Lorenzo (US$12 a night). The 12 small, rustic cabins have fireplaces (but no electricity) and are surrounded by a pine forest filled with blue woodpeckers. Camping is also permitted. A path through the robust pines leads to the top of the waterfall and down to the pool at its base, an hour’s walk in all. The scenery of the lookout may be spectacular, but at the bottom of the falls, the feeling of being in a huge, resonating caldron, next to a curtain of crashing water and surrounded by a unique microclimate is impressive in its own right.

Towards the Sierra Tarahumara

The lumber town of Creel, a three-hour car ride from Chihuahua, is a meeting point for tourists visiting the Copper Canyon. It is also the best place to find Tarahumaran crafts. Clay pots – botokolí, in the Rarámuri language – made in the village of Mata Ortíz sell for up to US$3,000.

The Chihuahua al Pacífico railroad, or Chepe (after its Spanish acronym), makes one of its busiest stops at the Creel station. The line was built in 1961 and descends 6,900 feet in altitude over its 120 miles. Train rides are one of the most worthwhile activities in the area. The line borders the Sierra Tarahumara and crosses extensive desert and forest valleys before reaching the coast at Topolobampo.

Before entering the mountains, improbably zoomorphic rock formations lurk on the vast plains surrounding Creel: toads, elephants and perfectly rounded mushrooms. Around the Arareko Laguna, not far from Creel, Tarahumaran girls sell their hand-woven textiles and wooden figures to the chabochis (visitors). These young artists take inspiration from the nature that surrounds them, which has remained virtually unchanged over the past 500 years. Their creations portray themselves, the three natural elements, colorful local vegetation and creatures like eagles, snakes, wolves, goats and owls.

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