El Chepe: Tren Barrancas Del Cobre

The train ride from Los Mochis to Bahuichivo was the absolute highlight of our tour of the Copper Canyon. It was every bit as spectacular as I'd hoped. We soaked up the scenery from our seats, from the bar car, dining car and observation deck. Quite an experience to travel through such a vast canyon and over such feats of engineering.  

If you are planning to check out the train in Copper Canyon, I offer you this advice. "Take El Chepe to Posada Barrancas, then stay  2 or 3 nights at the Mirador Hotel and return by train to El Fuerte. Book your train tickets and hotel stays directly." I wish I had similar advice before I left, we would have saved a bundle! And also been able to enjoy the train ride twice. Spending more time at the Mirador Hotel would have given us more time to simply to gaze at the canyon all day long and into the night from those incredible balconies. Unfortunately during our stay at the Mirador,  there was rain and snow, so we didn't get to enjoy sunny clear skies and starry nights - a few more nights would improve the chances to observe the vistas under various conditions. 

As it was, I ended up booking with the agency Tren Barrancas Del Cobre, which focuses stays in some nice hotels in the Copper Canyon, and specifically with the Barrancas chain. Mostly, the hotels themselves had seen better days. Maybe they were 4 or 5 stars at some point in the past, but certainly not in January 2026. Trip Advisor or Booking.com could certainly fill in the details. But they all had a certain charm.

The agency set up the itinerary but there were no representatives at the hotels, so basically you're on your own should difficulties arise. Also don't expect staff or fellow travellers at the hotels to accommodate English... 

My chief complaint with Tren Barrancas was that they asked me to confirm flight details, and then AFTER I booked my flight said that accommodations in El Fuerte were not available. Had I known that beforehand I could have shifted dates, because I did want to check out the historic and picturesque town where Zorro was said to have lived. Instead, we explored the more modern Los Mochis.

Overall we enjoyed the tour of the Copper Canyon through the states of Sinaloa and Chihuahua, and staying at the hotels did give us a better appreciation for the culture and geography. But of the 7 days, only 2 were days spent on train travel. Actually, the second day turned into a second night, because snowy weather caused a five hour train delay. So, if you are hoping for a train trip, don't book the Tren Barrancas Del Cobra, book with El Chepe instead.

Tren Barrancas booked us on several sight seeing excursions with small groups of 10-12. Rob and I don't usually do group tours, and these were in Spanish only, which made them all the more awkward. Google Translate helped somewhat but it definitely wasn't ideal. I'm not sure I like feeling so herded. You get to see highlights + there is safety in numbers + you are less likely to get lost - you're not really travelling at your own pace or doing things you would have chosen. 

Overall, the trip to the Copper Canyon was an adventure we'll remember. I'm genuinely happy we went.

Some highlights:

Los Mochis - We stayed at the Santa Anita Hotel for two nights. It seemed there were a fair amount of business people staying at the hotel and it had quite a tasty breakfast buffet. Located centrally, we could easily explored the town within walking distance. The nearby Museum had some interesting artifacts and its Cafe was a great place to rest in the shade. We checked out several storefronts and wandered downtown. We spent the afternoon at the Botanical Gardens checking out the flora, cactii, fountains and iguanas. Very tasty dinner at V de Vaca. At the time it didn't make sense to plan a day trip to El Fuerte as it was 1.5 to 2 hours away, but it actually could have worked. Another option would have been to check out the coast and book a boat trip.  Surrounding area was quite agricultural, so either daytrip would have been a chance to admire the landscape.

Chepe Express from Los Mochis to Bahuichivo / Mission Hotel in Ceracahui - Enjoyed every second of the scenery on the train ride. Once we arrived in Bahuichivo a van then took us to the Mission Hotel in Ceracahui. The town had a mobile police van parked in the middle of the square and the hotel didn't accept cash, yet there were no safes in the room. Staff weren't very welcoming so we felt very on edge. We missed out on a wine tour as they didn't offer it to English speakers. That night at dinner we did our best to converse in our baby Spanish, using grins and sign language. A kind-hearted woman gifted me with her chain when I complimented her on its sparkle. Fireplaces in the rooms! Rob kept ours stoked the night through because of the cold. The next day there was an excursion through Urique Canyon and Cerro del Gallego, the highest points of the Copper Canyon with spectacular views. Observed some of the famous "runners" from the Tarahumara tribe, or Raramuri as the indigenous refer to themselves. 

Bahuichivo to Posada Barrancas / Mirador Hotel - A van took us to the Mirador Hotel. Unfortunately, we only had one cold and rainy night here - and the roof in our room leaked! Thankfully, not on top of the bed, like some of the others down the hall. The hotel bus took us to the Adventure Park, where the morning rain turned to snow. Our scenic cable car adventure was cancelled just as we were standing in line waiting. Cold and miserable, we found our way back to the bus to return to the hotel, where I took off my wet runners and warmed my toes by the fire. A charming young Mexican couple befriended us and we whiled away the time waiting in our train delay, learning to play Conquian. The couple were seeing snow for the first time and delighting in it, while several tourists were tossing around snowballs. A pause in the weather brought a rainbow. 

Posada Barrancas / The Lodge at Creel - As night descended we boarded a van that took us to the train station. The train roared in quite dramatically. I recognized the porters from our Bahuichivo trip, and felt for them because their working day had just become at least 5 hours longer. It was a short ride to Creel. The Lodge was wonderful! Our room was warm and cosy and very comfortable, while the Lodge itself was gorgeous. Tasty breakfast. We stayed here two nights. There wasn't all that much to see in Creel, but we checked out the main street. There were a couple of excursions. The first day a Spanish speaking tour of surroundings of Creel, Valley of the Monks, Lake Arareko, Valley of the Mushrooms, Vally of the Frogs and a visit to Casa Tarahumara, where many of the natives still live in caves. 

Creel to Chihuahus / Sheraton Soberano Hotel - Our day started with an excursion to Cusarare Waterfalls followed by a tour of the Mennonite Museum. Both Spanish speaking tours. Likely would not have opted in for either of these, but it was on the itinerary. I wondered if the owners of the Lodge at Creel had ties to the Mennonite community, as our van ended up transporting a rather large package "for the church" that was laid in the aisle making it almost impassable. Oh well. The tour of the Mennonite centre turned out to be interesting, although I was a bit annoyed by the compulsory stop at the cheese store and home bakery. When we arrived at the Sheraton, the sauna and pools were closed. Ended up eating dinner at the hotel, again not something we would have chosen but other options weren't very accessible. The view from our hotel room and breakfast though, were fabulous! Then it was on to the Airport for the last leg of our journey, beaches in Jalisco.