Home » Rail Packages

Rail Tour to Mexico's Copper Canyon

The journey will be on Mexico's Ferromex Railroad, using a vintage South Orient Express train. This train includes fully restored classic equipment, including a California Zephyr dome car. The route will start at Chihuahua, run west to the Pacific coast and then head south along the coast. Bus coach travel is available between El Paso, Texas and Chihuahua. Ferromex Railroad is also planning to begin a passenger route between El Paso and Chihuahua, so inquire about this with Trains Unlimited.

The scenery along this route is considered to be among the most dramatic in the Western Hemisphere. The Copper Canyon Railroad, or "Chihuahua al Pacifico," was originally built so that southern Texas farmers could get access to a port on the Pacific Ocean. From 1863 to 1928, planning and work on the rail line continued and even after all this time a 161 mile gap remained, over the most difficult terrain between Creel and El Fuerte. In 1961, the line was finally completed.

Following departure from Chihuahua, the train passes through Creel, the town that is the gateway to the home of the Tarahumara Indians, Mexico's second largest native indian group. Following Creel, you will begin to witness the amazing feats of engineering that were necessary to complete the line. There are tunnels with 180 degree turns within and a 360 degree loop around a hill. There are more than 37 bridges and 86 tunnels. The train crosses the Continental Divide three times and frequently runs right along the rim of a huge canyon, which at its widest is wider than the Grand Canyon.

Travelers will spend each night off the train, in accommodations in Divisadero and El Fuerte. On Day Four, the train continues southward and heads towards Mazatlan, where travelers will spend a day and night at the El Cid Resort. The train then continues to Guadalajara where there is a free day to tour and explore the city.

If this short description of the Copper Canyon has caught your interest, you can read more about the region in Mexico's Copper Canyon, a full color guidebook by Richard D. Fisher. The book contains excellent photographs of the region, the train trip and of the Tarahumara Indians. And, most fittingly, Fisher uses profits from this book to aid the Tarahumara Indians, by providing cultural support and famine aid.

The Trains Unlimited tour described here starts at $2495.00 per person, with a $100.00 discount if booked by November 30, 2001. Email tut@psln.com for more information, or call (800) 359-4870 (US) or (800) 752-1836 (Canada).

I should note that many other rail tour packagers offer Copper Canyon tours, including the Rail Travel Center. Trains Unlimited also offers a Copper Canyon Rail Cruise in November and December 2002.

Back to the main packages page