Mining Mexico’s Copper Canyon

GETTING THERE

From LAX, direct service (stop, no change) is offered on Aero California and connecting service (change of planes) is available on Aero California, United and Delta to Aero Litoral. Restricted round-trip fares begin at $362.

Taxi transfers from the airport to El Fuerte, a pleasing colonial town about 60 miles northeast of Los Mochis airport, cost about $100 round trip. There is also a public bus from downtown Los Mochis to El Fuerte for about $4 one way.

The train, the Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad, runs daily, departing Los Mochis on the Gulf of California and Chihuahua in north-central Mexico at 6 a.m. The trip takes 14 hours, without stops, either way. Most tourists go from west to east to maximize daylight hours during the best parts of the journey between El Fuerte and Creel. Ferromex, (888) 484-1623, www.ferromex.com.mx (in Spanish only), which operates the train, has headquarters in Chihuahua. A one-way ticket between Los Mochis and Chihuahua costs $107.37 for first class.

TOURS AND AGENTS

Braeswood Travel, 24 Braeswood Square, Houston, TX 77096, (800) 721-4088 or (713) 721-4000, fax (713) 721-2529, is the company through which I booked my seven-night independent trip to Copper Canyon. The cost was $970 per person, double occupancy, or $1,382 single occupancy, including train tickets, transfers, eight meals and accommodations.

Balderrama Hotels & Tours, (800) 896-8196 or 011-52-668-818-7046, fax 011-52-668-812-0046, www.mexicoscoppercanyon.com, arranges train trips and operates a chain of excellent hotels on the route of the Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad.

Sierra Madre Express, P.O. Box 26381, Tucson, AZ 85726, (800) 666-0346 or (520) 747-0346, fax (520) 747-0378, www.sierramadreexpress.com, offers seven-night excursions on a luxury train with vintage cars through Copper Canyon, starting in Tucson and ending in Nogales, Sonora. Prices range from $2,795 to $3,095 per person, double occupancy.

WHERE TO STAY

Balderrama Hotels (see above) are located along the route of the Chihuahua al Pacífico Railroad and cater to U.S. travelers and tour groups. They include the charming colonial Hotel Posada del Hidalgo in El Fuerte, Hotel Misión in Cerocahui and scenic Hotel Posada Barrancas Mirador near Divisadero.

Sierra Lodge, (800) 776-3942, www.coppercanyonlodges.com, is about 10 miles south of Creel. It has 17 rooms with no electricity but plenty of hot water. Rates are $50 per person per night, including three meals.

Casa Real de las Minas, telephone/fax 011-52-649-456-9045, in Batopilas, is the most reliable place to stay. It has eight rooms around a pretty courtyard, with private baths, for about $40.

WHERE TO EAT

Balderrama Hotel restaurants are the only game in most Copper Canyon towns.

El Mesón del General, on Calle Juárez just off the square in El Fuerte, serves marvelous dinners of bass from the El Fuerte River for less than $10.

Doña Mica, no phone, near Casa de las Minas in Batopilas, offers home-cooked meals on the front porch for $4 or $5; I ate most of my meals there. The venerable Doña Mica died last year, but her daughter-in-law has carried on.

TO LEARN MORE

Mexican Government Tourism Office, Mexican Consulate, 2401 W. 6th St., 5th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90057; (800) 44-MEXICO (446-3942, for brochures) or (213) 351-2069, fax (213) 351-2074, www.visitmexico.com.