Also known as Barranca del Cobre, this expansive, awe-inspiring series of gorges in the heart of Mexico s Sierra Madre Mountains is four times the size of the Grand Canyon in the United States. Copper Canyon offers stunning vistas, numerous hikes and terrain that ranges from tropical valleys to mountains with peaks higher than 8,000 feet. Chihuahua is a colorful melting pot of people. From there, I took off for Creel, the unofficial gateway to the canyon. Nearing Creel s countryside, the town s old-world way of life becomes more and more apparent.
Farmers mow grass with horse-drawn scythes.
People pick jarillas by the side of the road while wild turkeys waddle in and out of the white and yellow yarrow, which blooms everywhere. Cornfields, wild and overgrown, thrive at the foot of the mountains. I did a little hiking, a lot of eating and drinking, and used many rolls of film trying to capture the canyon s vast beauty. I also attended a dance with an entire village, rode 7,000 feet into the canyon on the roof of a Suburban and developed a fondness for the ever-present ranchera music, the passionate lyrics of which can be heard on every radio in town. This is Mexico s Copper Canyon.