Copper Canyon Villages

Where Are the Villages of Copper Canyon
Update Oct 2012

Copper Canyon weaver

• Latest News, Cable Car, Adventure Park 

The Adventure Park with its cable car and zip line are the latest news from Copper Canyon.
Copper Canyon is still remote, regardless of the modern touches, and for the hiker and bike rider, there are still several isolated villages within Copper Canyon that you might visit for hiking, biking, and sightseeing.  Some hikes are on the ridges overlooking the canyons and some down in the canyons and reached by switchback roads and trails where you hike,  bike, or drive.  The train stops (Link)
along the way at three of the locations that are most popular with visitors: Posada Barrancas, El Divisadero, and Creel.

• El Divisadero  

El Divisadero is noted for its lodges on the edge of the canyons, with lofty views down into three canyons.   Here is where you find the new Teleferico (cable car) and zipline,
Divisadero is located about half way on the 400 miles of track between the Pacific coast and the City of Chihuahua.  El Divisadero is one of the important stops for tourists on the train line because the train stops for 15 minutes to give passenger a chance to take in the views from the overlook.  The hotels hug the edge of the cliff with views down into the canyons.  El Divisadero is 30 miles by road from Creel.  Walking tours, bike rides, and van tours to the villages (link)in the canyon are offered at El Divisadero.  Hikes to the cable car from Divisadero (3 miles round trip) are along the canyon rim.

• An El Divisadero Hotel

     The Hotel Divisadero Barrancas is located at the cliff edge with views down into the junction of three canyons, Del Cobre, (Copper Canyon) Urique Canyon, and Tararecua.  The restaurant offers views while dining, and some rooms offer balconies with a view.  The hotel offers a bar, cafe, reading room, souvenir shop, and parking for those that drive into the canyon.  The room rates start at 190 USD for a single in December and include breakfast.  The hotel is located just to the left where the train stops for the viewing area.
   Shop Hotels Chihuahua, Creel,  Divisadero, Areponapuchi

Copper Canyon weaver Cusarare

• Posadas Barrancas 

The Posadas Barrancas stop is another stop popular with tourist because of the access to hiking in the Urique Canyon.  Find lodging at the Mirador Posada Barranca, ( Posada Barancas Mirador) a hotel on the rim of the canyon offering great views.   This area is called Areponapuchic on maps.  The hotel offers in-room fireplaces, WiFi, and balconies overlooking the canyons.  The hotel can arrange hiking, horseback riding, helicopter flights, and it offers proximity to Tararecua Canyon and Tarahumara Ranch.

• Creel 

 Creel

Creel is an important rail stop away from the edge of the canyon.  Creel offers a more budget-friendly range of hotel options that include Hotel Margarita at 25-30 USD with breakfast.
Creel offers a bank and ATM machine, restaurants, bus service, and bus tours to the villages.  Creel is a popular train stop with tourists.
The village, at 7841 feet, is at the highest point in elevation along the train route.
 From Creel, you can access all the Copper Canyon villages with tours, bike routes, taxi, and bus transportation.  A good tour or bike ride from Creel is the 12-mile road to Cusarare, the small mission church of San Ignacio, cave dwellings, and the Cusarare Falls.  Check with the Three Amigos on the main street of Creel for rentals of vehicles and tours.  Check with Hotel Margarita for daily tours to mission church and the falls.

• Bus Service

From Creel, first class bus service reaches east to Cuauhtemoc and Chihuahua, a trip of 5 hours.  The train is not the only way to reach Copper Canyon but is the only direct way to  reach the canyon from the Western or Pacific Ocean side.

Copper Canyon Train, El Fuerte

• Copper Canyon Train

The Copper Canyon Train is the most popular method used by tourists to reach the canyons.  On the First class train, diesel locomotives pull passenger cars and a dining car once a day from the eastern end of the track at Chihuahua to the western end at Los Mochis.  At the same time, a train leaves from the western end at Los Mochis, headed over the 405 miles of track for the 15-hour trip to the inland city of Chihuahua on the eastern end of track.
The Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacifico, or Chepe, as the train is called, starts its run at 6:00 am from Los Mochis, an industrial seaport town on the Gulf of California and the Sea of Cortez.
Los Mochis also offers ferry service to La Paz on the lower Baja.

Shop Hotels Los Mochis, Mazatlan

• Train Route 

The Copper Canyon train follows Urique Canyon on its run to the villages at nearly 8000 feet elevation and then on to the City of Chihuahua on the Central Plateau.
       A second class train leaves Los Mochis as part of the first class train several days a week.  At other times, the second class train is a separate train leaving at 7 am to make the same run.  The trains also leave from Chihuahua in the same fashion.  These schedules change with changing demand but the six am starting time has remained constant.

• Continued, Copper Canyon Villages