COPPER CANYON
INTO THE LANDS OF THE RARAMURI
STARTS: Los Mochis, Sinaloa
ENDS: Chihuahua City, Chihuahua
DATES: April 10-23, 2025
13 Nights / 14 Days
PRICE FOR 12-14 GUESTS: $56,000 MXN
SINGLE SUPPLEMENT: $13,250 MXN
Please Note: If you would like an additional tour before or after this adventure, please confirm ahead of time so we leave time between flights.
WHY BOOK THIS TOUR WITH US?
The Copper Canyon is most famed for two things: The light-footed runners of the Raramuri, (formerly known as Tarahumara) and El Chepe, the infamous train that traverses the Sierra Tarahumara between Los Mochis, Sinaloa and Chihuahua City, Chihuahua. In 2018, El Chepe Express debuted as a luxury express train between Los Mochis and Creel, so if one wants to travel by train to Chihuahua City, it is necessary to board the original El Chepe regional, or switch between the two trains.
As the train quickly passes the flatlands of Sinaloa for the gradual climb into the Sierra, one thing becomes evident - this is one vast expanse of desolate landscape with few houses, let alone settlements or towns. This journey into the great unknown could turn out to be one of the most profound of your life, if approached properly.
Many people ask me about my travels through the canyons, as though it was a short journey that lasted for 4 or so days. Before I boarded El Chepe Regional in 2018, I met a fit elderly couple who were also travelling to Creel. Avid sailors, they had traveled inland from Topolobampo Bay, having done their research and priced their tour for a 4 day excursion. By the end, they were exhausted, sore (from sitting in cars too long), and wished they had afforded themselves more time. I met them in El Fuerte, Sinaloa while we were waiting for a tour bus that never arrived, and was happy to spend the next few days with them as we shared tours around the Copper Canyon. I was sad to see them depart, and even sadder as I reached the many cultural and natural depths of this region that they would have loved, but never got to experience. They are why I think of you, when I create my tours. They were the first couple I met after departing my former job and embarking on a research mission to start my tour business, so these two truly were my inspiration and have informed many of the decisions I have made throughout my career as a tour coordinator.
I don't normally recount my travels for promotional material (though maybe I should tell more of these stories), but it's important to impart this: short tours through the Copper Canyon do not do this colossal landscape justice. If you have the time and money to return here a few times, go ahead and book those short tours.
If you can only do this once, then do it right....and come with us!
KEYWORDS FOR THIS TRIP
* Train Ride
* Railroad History
* Pine Needle Baskets
* Indigenous Narratives
* Crazy Roads
* Silver History
* Copper Canyon
* Light Hiking
* Colonial Towns
* Raramuri Rituals and Cosmology
* Cessna Plane Ride through Sinforosa Canyon
* Panche Villa History & Sites
* Epic Journey
For 13 Nights and 14 days, what on earth are we doing? (I hear you ask)
Most tours only travel along the canyon rim for 4-6 days, with short stops gifted by the two day grace period between the train schedule, which only travels in one direction. One of the most complicated parts of a Copper Canyon journey is deciphering the train schedule in tandem with all of the places you want to see, vs the direction the train travels.
To travel into the depths of the canyons requires consideration for distances and time, alongside road conditions and limited accommodations. The canyon rim sits at 6000 feet above sea level, while the switch-back road that descends into the canyon delivers guests to nearly sea level. Many train-travellers don't realize this option is available, unless they speak Spanish or are diligent researchers. This means many, like my friends, miss visiting the canyon depths or having true opportunity to explore beyond the steps of the train platform.
Yet stepping off the train platform is when the real adventure begins!