Things to do in Central North Mexico
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Paquimé
The ruins of Paquimé, in a broad valley with panoramas to distant mountains, are what give Casas Grandes (Big Houses) its name. The mazelike eroding adobe remnants are from what became, from AD 900, the major trading settlement in northern Mexico. The settlement connected the cultures of central Mexico with the desert cultures of the north. Paquimé was the major center of the Mogollón or Casas Grandes culture, which extended north into New Mexico and Arizona and west into Sonora, as well as over most of Chihuahua state. It was finally sacked, perhaps by Apaches, around 1340. Excavation and restoration began in the late 1950s, and UNESCO declared it a World Heritage site …
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Museo Histórico de la Revolución Mexicana
Housed in Quinta Luz, a 48-room mansion and former headquarters of Pancho Villa, the Museo Histórico de la Revolución Mexicana is a must-see, not only for history buffs but for anyone who appreciates a good made-for-Hollywood story of crime, stakeouts and riches.
After his assassination in 1923, 25 of Villa's 'wives' filed claims for his estate. Government investigations determined that Luz Corral de Villa was the generalissimo's legal spouse; the mansion was awarded to her and became known as Quinta Luz. She opened the museum and the army acquired it after her death in 1981. You'll see many of Villa's personal effects plus weapons from his era, but everyone's favorite …
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Villa del Oeste
Many of the big-screen cowboys swaggered through Villa del Oeste, 12km north of Durango. Today, the set is a souvenir-drenched theme park with gunslingers shooting it out at weekends (2:30pm and 4:30pm on Saturday, 1:30pm, 3:30pm and 5:30pm Sunday), while the rest of the week it’s empty. Either way, it’s kind of fun. On weekends, a bus (adult/child M$30/20 including admission) leaves from Durango’s Plaza de Armas a half-hour before each show. To get there on weekdays, take any northbound bus (M$10, about every 30 minutes) and remind the driver to drop you there. To get back you’ll have to flag down a bus, so expect to stand in the sun for a while.
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Quinta Gameros
Wealthy mine-owner Manuel Gameros started building the bold, art nouveau Quinta Gameros in 1907 as a wedding present for his much younger fiancée, Elisa Muller. By the time it was finished, three years later, she had died, and soon afterwards the Revolution began and the Gameros family fled Mexico. Pancho Villa would later use it as offices. Today, the house is gorgeously restored and filled with a mix of period furnishings and art from the Universidad de Chihuahua’s permanent collection. Every room is unique and the whole place is a sensuous delight of stained glass, carved and painted wood, sinuous forms, and floral and bird motifs.
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Conjunto Huápoca
The Conjunto Huápoca has trails to a triple set of cliff dwellings inhabited from about 1200 to 1450. You get only distant overlooks of the first two, Cueva del Nido del Águila (Eagle’s Nest Cave) and Cueva Mirador (Lookout Cave), but you can enter houses in the Cueva de la Serpiente (Cave of the Serpent), where the restored adobe dwellings cut through to both sides of the cliff. It’s down a steep, narrow canyon, and though there are steps, it’s not an easy walk. It’s a 2.5km round-trip to see them all.
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Museo Arocena
The bright, contemporarily designed Museo Arocena, just off the Plaza de Armas, has galleries of Mexican and Spanish art and a local history section, but the best part is the outer walkway on the third level, which traces Mexico’s history through its arts and technology, from the ancient Olmecs to the 1940s golden age of Mexican cinema, with the aid of interactive screens. In front of the museum is an entrance to Canal de la Perla, an underground aqueduct recently rediscovered by accident and sometimes used for exhibitions.
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Aventura Pantera
It is run by Walter Bishop Velarde, a former Durango rancher who was one of the pioneers of Mexican ecotourism in the early ’90s and has vast knowledge and experience of northern Mexico. English-speaking guides lead exciting trekking, bird-watching, mountain- biking and camping trips into the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains, the Zona del Silencio and elsewhere. Most trips cost around M$1300 per person per day and require at least eight participants, though guaranteed-date trips (listed on the website) go with any number of people.
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Museo Francisco Villa
The building from which Pancho Villa was shot and killed in 1923, toward the west end of town, now houses the Museo Francisco Villa. It has two floors of interesting photos, guns and memorabilia, and guided tours (by donation) available in Spanish and sometimes English. The best thing to do here is to listen to the often dubious stories the guides tell. The tale about Villa’s body being switched with a decoy after the decapitation, and thus not actually being moved to Mexico City, may have some credibility.
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Palacio Alvarado
Built a century ago in an eclectic European style by French architect Amerigo Rouvier for silver tycoon Pedro Alvarado, the beautifully restored Palacio Alvarado has pressed aluminum ceilings and other artistic flair, plus plenty of original furnishings, decoration and artifacts. It’s a block off Plaza Baca. Alvarado was so rich he once offered to pay off Mexico’s entire national debt. Lady Alvarado died shortly before the house was completed. Her funeral wagon, later used for Pancho Villa, is on display.
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La Casa de los Milagros
Legend has it that Pancho Villa and his pals loved this stylish café, and you probably will too. In a beautiful, 110-year-old mansion featuring high ceilings, tiled floors and an airy courtyard, the food, cocktails and ambience all merge into a fantastic evening. The menu features a great selection of coffee drinks, fresh salads, some original antojitos (Mexican snacks), and steaks and chicken for heartier appetites. There’s live music, usually ballads and trova, from 9pm Wednesday to Sunday.
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Palacio de Gobierno
The courtyard of the handsome, 19th-century state government building features fantastic 1950s murals by Aarón Piña Mora showing the highly eventful history of Chihuahua. Authorized guide Óscar Mazón is usually on hand here from noon to 4pm to give an excellent explanation of the paintings in English, French, Italian or Spanish for M$200 – or you can get a free booklet on them in the tourist office.
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Casa Chihuahua
Chihuahua’s former Palacio Federal, built in 1908–10, is now a cultural center full of very interesting and varied exhibits, with most explanations in English and Spanish. The most famous gallery is the Calabozo de Hidalgo, the dungeon where Miguel Hidalgo was held prior to his execution. The Calabozo and two rooms of historical exhibits next to the dungeon comprise the building’s Museo de Sitio.
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Plaza de Armas
The Plaza de Armas is one of the loveliest in this region, filled with fountains and flowers, and not a modern-looking building in site. The large band shell (the municipal band plays Thursdays at 18:00) has an artesanía shop below the stage. One of the reasons it's so pleasant to while away time in the plaza is the view of the impressive baroque facade of the Catedral Basílica Menor.
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Botero’s
Botero’s is brightly contemporary in both its adventurous Chihuahua-meets-Europe cuisine and its bi-level, window-walled design. Steaks, seafood and pasta (in sauces, such as smoked salmon and vodka) head up the menu; lighter options include salads with ingredients such as mango and goat cheese, and some truly tempting tentaciones (temptations). It does a big M$90 breakfast buffet, too.
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Grutas de Nombre de Dios
These warm caves on the northeast edge of town have some impressive stalagmites, stalactites and other rock formations, making the one-hour, 17-chamber underground journey fun, especially for kids. To get there take either a taxi (M$70) or a ‘Nombre de Dios Ojo’ bus (M$6) from outside Posada Tierra Blanca on Niños Héroes. Ask the driver to tell you when to get off.
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La Cueva del Indio
This lovely cave-themed spot has a highly original design inspired by the ancient structures of the region, T-shaped door and all. Trout is the specialty of the house, but there’s a big selection of meat dishes too, and you might consider vestigios de la cueva, a delicious pre-Hispanic–style meat, bean and chili stew. Good breakfasts too, including a vegetarian omelet.
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Museo y Centro Cultural Menonita
The large Museo y Centro Cultural Menonita holds hundreds of household goods and farm tools from the early years of Mennonite settlement in the area. It’s remarkably similar to small-town historical museums in the American Midwest. A variety of crafts, cheeses and fruit preserves are sold here. A taxi from downtown will cost you about M$200 with waiting time.
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Museo Regional de Durango
The Museo Regional de Durango, in a palatial, French-style, 19th-century mansion, has thorough displays on Durango state history, from early indigenous settlements to the 20th century. It includes special exhibits on Pancho Villa and the impressive array of minerals found in Durango. Most explanations are in English as well as Spanish.
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Restaurant Playa Azul
Fish and shrimp don’t immediately leap to mind in an inland city such as Durango, but this seafood specialist is one of the best restaurants in town. Service in the colorfully decorated 18th-century patio is professional, and you can choose from 20 ways of preparing grouper fillets or a range of seafood cocktails, including the six-ingredient Molotov.
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Marioneta
This pub-like restaurant/café with six different rooms serves up tasty tacos, quiche, steaks and queso fundido (melted cheese with tortillas), to the accompaniment of varied live music (Tuesday to Saturday nights) and an ample range of cocktails, smoothies and beers. It’s near the Alameda park, 2km east of the Plaza de Armas.
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Conexión a la Avéntura
Conexión a la Avéntura offers numerous outdoor trips all over the region, including rock climbing and rappelling in Parque Nacional Cumbres de Majalco, kayaking the Río Conchos and sandboarding at Samalayuca Dunes. A nine-day Copper Canyon trip with four days of burro trekking costs US$1135 per person with four people.
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Mi Café
This American-style greasy-spoon diner caters both to travelers and local cowboys, serving up excellent breakfasts and coffee at big, comfy booths. Chilaquiles montados con huevos (corn tortillas with chili and eggs) is great way to start the morning or kick a hangover. Internet access also available.
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Cervecería
While other Zona Dorada nightspots try to outdo themselves with flash and style, this drive-in, park-like spot guarantees its success with one simple hook: cheap beer. One liter is just 28 pesos. Norteño and country bands kick off around 21:00 and the earthy crowd makes for great people-watching.
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Al Gusto Restaurante
This air-conditioned surprise, just across Puente Francisco Villa from Plaza Principal, serves up carefully prepared dishes from burgers and salads to fish and excellent fajitas, in four separate rooms with a tranquil ambience. The introductory chips come with two great, original cream-cheese and chili dips.
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Cremería Wallander
A wonderful café and deli with a tranquil courtyard where you can enjoy healthy breakfasts and extraordinary tortas, made with cold cuts and cheese direct from the Wallander family farm on fresh-baked rolls. It’s also a great place to stock up on baked goods, wine, yogurt, honey and dried fruit.
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