But the cost of mining and getting the silver out of the steep canyon soon overtook the profits, and operations were abandoned in both places in the early 1900s. Shepherd's hacienda, whose ruins can be toured, was looted by the soldiers of Pancho Villa during the 1910 Revolution. Built by the Jesuits in the 1700s, the impressive structure, with its white paint and red onion-dome, stands out in a little valley in the mountains. Among the handful of small hotels here, the Real de Minas and the Riverside Lodge are well regarded. The Real de Minas, where we stayed, has only eight rooms and is not air-conditioned, but the cooled air is not needed in the subtropical weather in the canyon.
Restaurants are in short supply, too.
Plans reportedly are afoot in Mexico City to build a paved highway to Batopilas to increase tourism and boost the area's economy. There are those who disagree with that idea, saying it literally would be the road to ruin for the town.