Sights in Northwest Mexico
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Reserva de la Biosfera El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar
North and northwest of Puerto Peñasco extends the massive, 7145-sq-km Reserva de la Biosfera El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar. The reserve comprises the 5000-sq-km Gran Desierto de Altar, with dunes up to 200m high; and the Sierra El Pinacate area with majestic volcanic mountains, nine giant extinct craters, 400-plus ash cones, and petrified lava flows. It’s a surreal and astonishing landscape with an extreme climate. You can access the dunes area at the new, solar-powered visitors center, about 8km west of Km 73 on Hwy 8 (some 25km from Puerto Peñasco).
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Centro Ecológico de Sonora
This park-like zoo and botanical garden is 7km south of central Hermosillo. It features an excellent array of plants and wildlife from Sonora’s mountains, deserts and prairies, from jaguar and puma to bighorn sheep and the endangered, antelope-like Sonoran pronghorn (berrendo) which, when it gets going, is the fastest-moving land animal in North America. The center takes about 1½ hours to walk around at a nonpronghorn pace. To get there, take the southbound Línea 11 bus from the west side of Jardín Juárez out into the southern suburbs. Get off when the bus turns north off Xolotl on to Templo de Tláloc, then walk 600m south on Templo de Tláloc.
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Parroquia de la Purísima Concepción
Álamos’ parish church is the tallest building in town. It was built between 1786 and 1804 and despite having only one tower, bears a resemblance to the slightly earlier ‘White Dove of the Desert’ mission church in Tucson, Arizona. The altar rail, lamps, censers and candelabra were fashioned from silver, but were all ordered to be melted down in 1866 by General Ángel Martínez after he booted French troops out of Álamos. Seven or so subterranean passageways between the church and Álamos mansions – probably escape routes for rich families in times of attack – were blocked off in the 1950s.
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Delfinario Sonora
Weekend visits to the new Delfinario Sonora include sea-lion and dolphin shows and, for extra charges, a close-up sea-lion experience (M$150) or swimming with dolphins (M$400 to M$1000). During the week it’s reserved for dolphin-therapy sessions for people with neurological or psychological difficulties. The dolphinarium is on a secondary coastal road between Guaymas and San Carlos: a taxi from San Carlos costs M$200.
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Plaza Zaragoza
Not to be confused with the grittier Jardín Juárez, this plaza is shaded by beautiful orange trees, drawing government workers on lunch breaks and creating a peaceful place to hang.
At night, the plaza comes alive with vendors hawking Sonoran tamales and tasty variations of corn swarm in. A city of over half a million suddenly feels like a small town.
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Casa del Mar
The Casa del Mar is a visitors center for the 900-island Área de Protección de Flora y Fauna Islas del Golfo de California. It has very informative displays in Spanish and English, and issues permits for visiting the islands (M$40 per person per island per day). It’s two blocks off Avenida Mar de Cortez near the northwest end of Kino Nuevo.
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Museo Casa de las Artesanías del Estado de Chihuahua
The Museo Casa de las Artesanías del Estado de Chihuahua, across the rail tracks from the plaza, is a great spot to delve deeper into Rarámuri culture. It has excellent exhibits with text in English on local history and Rarámuri culture and crafts, with gorgeous woven baskets, traditional clothing, photos and more.
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Cerro de la Campana
This 'Hill of the Bell' is the most prominent landmark in the area and an easy point of reference night or day. It's named for the legend that striking certain rocks on the hill creates a bell sound. The panoramic view from the top is worth the drive up - though it's a shame about the numerous telecommunication towers.
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El Panteón
Álamos’ deliciously ancient cemetery is a fascinating jumble of above-ground tombs, elaborate headstones made of pastel-hued crosses and angel statues, and tall palm trees. It began receiving the dead of wealthy families in 1751, when the practice of burying them inside the church was abolished.
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Parque Sinaloa
Parque Sinaloa occupies part of the former estate of Benjamin Johnston, the American who founded the sugar mill around which Los Mochis grew up in the early 20th century. Have a wander to see the international trees and plants Johnston installed, and the scant remains of his Casa Grande.
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Museo Costumbrista de Sonora
This well-done museum of Sonoran customs has extensive exhibits (all in Spanish) on the history and traditions of the people of Sonora. Special attention is paid to the influence of mining on Álamos, and the fleeting prosperity it created. There’s also a shop selling some Mayo crafts.
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Old Jail
The old jail (1900), near the bus station on Calle 15, is also an impressive sight in an otherwise rundown neighborhood. A project is in order to move the now razed Museo Histórico de Guaymas here, though not much progress had been made at time of research.
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Museo de Sonora
Hugging the east side of the Cerro de la Campana, this museum is worth a stroll for its location in a stone-walled, 100-year-old former jail - a museum itself - with interesting exhibits on the history of Sonora housed in former cells.
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Museo Mirador El Fuerte
The Museo Mirador El Fuerte has very interesting exhibits (mostly in Spanish) on area history and the indigenous Mayo culture – plus marvelous views from its upper walkway. It’s a great idea to be up here at sunset.
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Museo Loyola
Located in the Rarámuri village of Cusárare, the Museo Loyola holds an exceptional collection of religious paintings from the colonial era, saved from decay in missions around the Sierra Tarahumara.
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Palacio Municipal
Near the Plaza de los Tres Presidentes are the 19th-century Iglesia de San Fernando and its Plaza 13 de Julio; the Palacio Municipal (built in 1899); and the neoclassical Banco de Sonora, which someone needs to restore in a hurry.
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Iglesia de San Fernando
Near the Plaza de los Tres Presidentes are the 19th-century Iglesia de San Fernando and its Plaza 13 de Julio; the Palacio Municipal (built in 1899); and the neoclassical Banco de Sonora, which someone needs to restore in a hurry.
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Banco de Sonora
Near the Plaza de los Tres Presidentes are the 19th-century Iglesia de San Fernando and its Plaza 13 de Julio; the Palacio Municipal (built in 1899); and the neoclassical Banco de Sonora, which someone needs to restore in a hurry.
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Museo de los Seris
The Museo de los Seris, near the northwest end of Kino Nuevo, displays a small but interesting collection of Seri artifacts such as a reed canoe, ironwood carvings, basketry and a traditional pelican-skin costume.
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Parroquia del Sagrado Corazón
The whitewashed Parroquia del Sagrado Corazón, a small church with a graceful tower, stands sentinel near the pleasant, quiet and shady central Plazuela 27 de Septiembre.
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Plaza de los Tres Presidentes
Everything you will want to check out is in and around the Plaza de los Tres Presidentes, which commemorates the three Mexican presidents hailing from Guaymas with an impressive triple-threat monument.
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Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
The majestic Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, also called the Catedral Metropolitana, was constructed between 1877 and 1908 in a mix of neoclassical and baroque styles.
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Palacio de Gobierno
The Palacio de Gobierno, completed in 1906, features an airy, neo-Moorish courtyard with colorful, dramatic murals depicting the history of Sonora.
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Museo Regional del Valle del Fuerte
The Museo Regional del Valle del Fuerte was closed for renovation at the time of research but it’s worth checking to see if it has reopened.
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Casa del Centenario
You might find a worthwhile historical exhibition in the Casa del Centenario.
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