La Barranca del Cobre

They say the best way to see La Barranca del Cobre (The Copper Canyon) is by train, so that's what I did.

I was at the station at 5:30am. Such was the depth of my commitment.

It was a pleasant enough sunrise.

The first 3 hours are flat and agricultural.

But soon hills start rising out of the plain. Those pinkish smudges, incidentally, are some sort of flowering tree.

Quite lovely, really. There were an abundance of wildflowers, as well, but they are tricky to photograph from a moving train.

You cross a veeerrry looonnng bridge.

And are quickly in the canyons themselves.


One particularly dramatic section is "La Pera" where, within the pear-shaped canyon, the train completely doubles back on itself. Note the bridge from whence we've come and, above and to the left of the bridge, the tunnel we will soon enter.


A quick shot of our means of conveyance.



In Mexico, you're allowed to hang out the side of the railcars to take videos to scare your loved ones.

And finally, the money shot: a cliffside view into La Barranca del Cobre itself. There are hotels there in Divisadero hanging off the side of the cliff and offering this view out your bedroom window. They are, unfortunately, rather expensive.

Instead, I pressed on to Creel, which will be the subject of my next post.