Must-see attractions in Chihuahua & Central North Mexico

These ruins, in a broad valley with panoramas to distant mountains, contain the mazelike adobe remnants of northern Mexico’s most important trading…

Chihuahua’s former Palacio Federal (built 1908–10) has been used as a mint, a monastery, a military hospital and a post office, but is now a beautifully…

Housed in a spectacular colonial mansion, this well-conceived museum pays deep homage to the Mexican revolutionary hero Pancho Villa. Sixteen rooms worth…

This impressive city museum features an interesting collection of interactive exhibits, from pre-Hispanic times through colonization to the present day,…

Flower- and fountain-filled Plaza de Armas is graced by the handsome baroque Catedral del Basílica Menor. A popular meeting spot, there's a bandstand,…

This well-conceived museum, created in a traditional Mennonite architectural style, holds hundreds of household goods and farm tools from the early years…

Huápoca has trails to a triple set of cliff dwellings that the Mogollón inhabited from about 1200 to 1450. You get only distant overlooks of the first two…

Many of the big-screen cowboys have swaggered through this film set. Today the set is a souvenir-drenched theme park with mock film productions on…

Once a locomotive maintenance and repair shop, this renovated warehouse is home to the city's small but excellent modern art museum, with one room…

Heading on the main road past the Huápoca ruins, turn right at the sign for Cueva Grande, where three ancient Mogollón buildings sit dramatically behind a…

A stunning viewpoint over the vast Sinforosa Canyon. Reach it by taking a good but mostly unpaved road 18km south of Guachochi.

Built in an incredibly elaborate belle epoque architectural style by a wealthy mine owner, this museum is filled with a mix of period furnishings and art…

Housed in Quinta Luz, Pancho Villa's 48-room former mansion, this museum is a must-see for anyone who appreciates a made-for-Hollywood story of crime,…

A mining museum in an underground tunnel. Guides lead visitors past displays on the history of mining in Durango while weaving in legends of the past…

In a palatial French-style, 19th-century mansion, this museum has thorough displays on Durango state's geology, history and culture. Durango's main…

This mine was the basis of Parral’s economy for centuries after it opened in 1629, producing mainly silver, but also gold, copper, zinc and lead. Today,…

These caves on Chihuahua’s northeast edge boast impressive stalagmites, stalactites and rock formations, making the one-hour, 17-chamber underground…

Soaring an incredible 402m above the Río Baluarte, this incredible feat of engineering is the highest bridge in the Americas. It's one of many incredible…

Chihuahua’s historic heart, with its mass of pigeons, shoe-shiners and cowboy-hatted characters, is a simple but pretty place. A bronze sculpture of the…

This small, somewhat dated museum has fascinating displays and a collection of artifacts from the different indigenous peoples who've lived in the region…