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Copper Canyon Train Ride
By Ron Mears
May 10, 2005, 22:05
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
The Copper Canyon region is 25,000 square miles and stretches across almost 1/3 of the state of Chihuahua, located in Northern Mexico. If you board the Chihuahua al Pacifico train in Los Mochis you will pass through the beautiful farmland of Sinaloa and then begin slowly climbing into the Sierra Madres. If you board the train in Chihuahua the high desert country of that region is also spectacular. Although the train ascends as high as 8,000 feet near San Juanito, amazingly, the angle of descent never exceeds 2.5%. The entire trip is 397 miles and can take as long as 20 hours on the second class train and about three hours less on the first class train.
Scenery ranges from old-growth Ponderosa Pines to pristine snow capped mountains. There are two climate bands in the Sierra Madres: the colder areas along the rims of the canyons and the sub-tropical areas in the canyon bottoms. If you take a side trip into the canyons you may see glistening lakes of pure fresh water and enormous waterfalls. Bird watchers love this trip because the region has almost 300 species, both indigenous and migratory. There are deer, bears, and large hunting cats in the canyons as well.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
You will see firsthand why the railway is heralded as an incredible engineering feat. The train passes through 87 tunnels. Just north of Témoris it enters the Tunel la Pera, which is 3,073 feet long and actually makes a 180 degree turn inside of the mountain.
The railway engineers made equally impressive use of bridges, of which there are 36, one of them towering 1,000 feet over the Chinípas River. As you can see on the map, just north of El Divisadero the tracks actually make a loop over themselves. This railroad required 100 years to build. Almost all of the 36 bridges on the route are over 100 feet tall, and one is 1,000 feet tall.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
If you are not going to take the train both ways on separate days you should probably choose Los Mochis as your point of departure for the train ride. I doubt if you would be disappointed with either route, but the mountain views you will see on the daylight leg of the journey are even more interesting than those on the eastern end of the Sierra Madres. Most people say the best scenery is between Temoris and Cerocahui on the west. Get to the station an hour early if you do not have reservations and ask for a seat on the south side of the train (lado sur). As you can see the passenger cars are quite comfortable.
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Depths (in feet)
of the
Five Deepest Canyons |
| Urique |
6,136 |
| Sinforosa |
6,002 |
| Candaména |
5,775 |
| Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre) |
5,770 |
| Batopilas |
5,904 |
| Grand Canyon |
4,674 | |
When you look at the geography of the region you will see that the Copper Canyon region is really a maze of over 200 gorges which in turn form six massive canyons (called barrancas in Spanish). Much hoo-hah is made about these canyons being larger than the grand canyon, but this tends to put the wrong expectations in the mind of someone planning the trip. The Grand Canyon is stark and beautiful. These canyons are lush with vegetation. They are two distinct natural wonders and should not really be compared in this fashion. These canyons were formed by six different rivers, all of which finally combine into the Rio Fuerte which empties into the Sea of Cortez after it's journey across the Mexican state of Sinaloa.
To add another dimension to the trip, the entire Sierra Madre region is inhabited by the gentle, mysterious Tarahumara Indians. They number approximately 50,000 and are the last free living indigenous people in North America.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
Economy Class vs. First Class. As of December, 2003, the first class train left at 6 a.m. in the morning, and the second class train left an hour later at 7 a.m. My trip from Chihuahua to Los Mochis took 18 hours on the second class train, not arriving in Los Mochis until almost 2 a.m. the following morning. The second class train is used purely for transportation by many people who live in the Sierra Madres, so it makes twice as many stops as the first class train, quite a few more stops than listed on the price schedule, I might add. The conductors were not going to put a family with little children out in the cold night 15 miles from their cabin.
For the trip back I purchased a ticked on the first class train. The trip was three hours shorter, but otherwise the only difference that the first class train had a dining car versus a "food" car. The mix of tourists to locals was higher on the first class train. The first class train was much more crowded, making it more difficult to get a spot at the window in the spaces between the cars from which to shoot photos. All in all, I would probably choose the economy class boths ways should I make the trip again. The food car served only sandwiches and soup, but service was quick. The dining car on the first class train was crowded, and service was slow. A hamburger and french fries cost $6 in the dining car. The food car was also open until just 30 minutes of arrival and served hot coffee on demand. The dining car closed several hours earlier.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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But enough preliminaries: On with the trip!
When the brochures state the the Copper Canyon train ride is a step back into time, it's really true. Many of the people in this region of the world rely on horses as their primary means of transportation. Although I could not get it in the picture, I'm almost certain this gentleman was sporting a six shooter on his hip. The photo was taken not long after the train departed the Los Mochis station, headed east to the mysterious heights of the Sierra Madres at about 40 mph.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
I settled comfortably into my window seat, thrilling to the sound of the whistle and the low hum of the locomotive as we made our way slowly into the unknown of this much heralded adventure. Judging from the faces of the other passengers, I could see I was not alone in this childlike sense of anticipation. The scenery becomes interesting very quickly after leaving Los Mochis.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
But I quickly discovered one of the great facets of train travel. You are not imprisoned in your seat! No one expects you to stay in your seat. You can move from car to car or stand in the spaces between the cars in front of the open windows. Of the 10 daylight hours in front of me, I would suggest that I spent perhaps 10 minutes in my seat, only then to change the batteries in the camera or get something out of my travel bag. Mostly I was holding the fort at one of these open windows in order to get clear photographs such as this one.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
When I beheld this scene I could almost see John Wayne forded the stream on a big horse, surrounded by cameras and movie gear, and by this time a spot at the window was something to guard carefully, but, of course, it would have been exceedingly rude not to offer to share it with other photographers. Nevertheless, I did not stray far to avoid getting lost in the crowd.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
The low rumble of the locomotive as it hauls this huge train into the mysteries of the Sierra Madres, steady and reliable, leaves a permanent impression upon you. Every mountain is a reminder that you have left your hum-drum world and entered another world about which you know almost nothing.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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This is the bar/restaurant. There was another, equally elegant car behind this one for meals only, but both were soon full only an hour after I snapped this photo. Having lunch on the first class train required almost an hour and half, mostly waiting time for a table.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
Some of technical problems the builders had to overcome were the chawning ravines in the path of the railroad. Most all of the 36 bridges on the route are over 100 feet tall, and one is over 1,000 feet tall. The railroad required 100 years to build.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
All too soon the train pulls into El Divisadero for the spectacular view of the Barranca del Cobre. The train will stop here for a stay scheduled to last 15 minutes, but there were so many people on the train the day of my trip it probably lasted 30 minutes. Not shown here, the station has at least a dozen food stands which serve delicous burritos.
The Tarahumara Indians offer their arts and crafts for very affordable prices here. A casual visitor might just see a colorful indigenous people, but knowing a little of their history certainly deepens the experience, because only through a combination of tenacity and geography are they there at all. They call themselves the Raramuri, "men of light feet". Tarahumara is the name given to them by the Spanish. Numbering approximately 50,000, they are the last free living indigenous people in North America, living their lives in this vast Sierra Madre region, only a tiny portion of which you will even see from the train, a mountain range called often called the Sierra Tarahumaras because of their presence.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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The story of their interaction with Western civilization follows the same sad pattern as that of the indigenous peoples of what is now the United States and most other countries of the world: one of being violently subjugated by an arrogant and more powerful culture which viewed them as sub-human. When gold and silver was discovered in the Sierra Madres in the late 1500's, the Spaniards wasted little time impressing the Tarahumara Indians into slavery as miners. They were forced to live in concentration camps, and, of course, the Tarahumara quickly discovered they were susceptible to a host of lethal western diseases, such as small pox and tuberculosis. This bothered their conquistadors not in slightest, and as demand for the gold and silver increased the Spanish needed more slave labor and began to raid even the mission pueblos which had been established by the Jesuits to protect the Indians. Many Raramuri fled into the canyons, a huge hideout which made it impossible for any group to ever take complete control of them. The Jesuits were finally recalled in 1767, but, strangely, their influence over the Raramuri continues to this day. The natives incorporated much of Christianity into their own indigenous view of the world, discarding what made little sense to them and clinging to what did. They were particularly fascinated with the Resurrection, and to this day Semana Santa (Easter week) is a huge celebration and is considered to be the key annual event in their culture.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
People from all over the world have stood at this railing. On our train alone, I spoke with tourists from Germany, France, Israel, Mexico, and the United States. After taking a good look into the canyon I quickly succumbed to the smell of the spicy Mexican food wafting down to the observation station from the food stands. I bought one and ordered two more after the first bite, one of which I shared with a new friend, a dog who stood still a respectful three feet away and watched with great dismay as the burrito in my hand quickly disappeared. He was obviously well nourished, but his cocked head and mournful eyes won him half of a burrito, which he consumed in two gulps before he followed me down to the rim of the canyon.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
It was time to get some good shots of the Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon). I have read the drop here is 7,000 feet in some articles; other articles claim the drop is 9,000. If you don't mind the delay to download, the larger images of the stop at Divisadero are well worth the wait. Whatever the exact number of feet to the bottom of the canyon, no one who stands here fails to be impressed with the natural splendor of the Barranca del Cobre.
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
Should I make the trip again, I will spend the night in El Divisadero. Most accounts describe expensive lodging in Divisadero, but two of the hotels have rooms overlooking the canyon itself and are reputed to have superb food and service. There is a huge balancing rock nearby and hiking trails around the canyon rim. You should also consider taking one of the many, many side trips available into the canyons themselves.
I could have stood at the observation station for hours just taking pictures, but by now, regretfully, the engineer was blowing the train whistle and the conductors saying, "Vamanos!"
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Photo by Ron Mears |
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Click on the image for larger version | |
You may see a lot more pictures and learn about Los Mochis, Creel, and the other points of interest in the Copper Canyon article on my website. There is also a lot more information about the history of this great railway and that of the Tarahumara Indians. Finally, what did it cost? I made the round trip from Ciudad Chihuahua to Los Mochis and back for only $400. You can find out how in the article.
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