For Christmas 2021 I traveled to the Copper Canyon in Mexico. Though Covid remains an issue everyone on our tour, including guide and driver, were fully vaccinated. This was a trip that I had been considering for some time.

The only downside of the trip was all the driving, though I knew that ahead of time. The Copper Canyon is literally in the middle of nowhere and far from any major city in Mexico. We started from Tucson, crossing the border at Columbus, NM. From there we traveled to Nuevo Casas Grandes Mexico for our first night. Then another full day of driving, arriving at our hotel in the Copper Canyon just in time for sunset on Christmas Eve. The Copper Canyon is actually a series of six canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountains.

The Mirador Hotel where we stayed is built on the rim of the canyon with each room having a large balcony overlooking the canyon. You couldn’t ask for a better view.

Christmas day was spent exploring the Canyon. We took a tram across the canyon to an elevated point with a 360 degree view of the canyon. After we came back we walked along the rim of the canyon to a craft market. Later that afternoon some of us took an optional hike along the rim and passed by the home of one of the indigenous Tarahumara who live in the canyon.

After two nights at the Canyon we boarded the Chihuahua al Pacifico railway “Chepe” train taking us down to the town of El Fuerte. This is the only passenger train in all of Mexico. We traveled from an elevation of 7,349’ in Posada Barrancas to 295′ in El Fuerte. We rode in one of the first class cars with a nice plated lunch in the dining car. We were at the end of the train and right behind our car was an open air viewing car. The views on the way down were ever-changing and just stunning.

From El Fuerte we traveled to Alamos and then a two night stay in San Carlos on the Sea of Cortez. Our hotel in San Carlos was on a marina and we all had marina-view room. There we took a morning boat ride viewing various birds and many dolphins.

On our final night in Mexico we went to a viewpoint in San Carlos to view the sunset. Then a final all-day drive back to Tucson.

This trip is very much “on the go” but very worthwhile to see this landscape that most people will never reach.

Operator: Gate 1 Travel
Dates: Dec. 22 – 31, 2021