Allgemein EN – Page 13 – Kat´s Truth about Travelling

Viewpoint of Chihuahua

Damn far from the centre, but really cool and much higher than expected. Chihuahua is a “big” city in northern Mexico and also the capital of the state with the same name. I passed through Chihuahua on my way from el Chepe and back to central Mexico because much of northwestern Mexico is simply not very well connected. Chihuahua though is a wonderful place to “take off” from. After seeing the centre, I took the bus to the place I had marked on Maps from where I could walk up to the viewpoint. The bus was a typical slightly rickety Mexican bus and I was one of the few passengers. I admit that I felt a little uneasy when I arrived because there was absolutely no one on the streets, but I just walked straight to the viewpoint and hoped for the best. After all, turning back and returning to the centre wouldn't have made more sense either. And I indeed arrived at the viewpoint without further ado, walked up the winding road past graffitis and finally reached the top. The view from up there is different from other Mexican cities because Chihuahua is located in the middle of a desert, which you can see from the landscape, the dryness and also from the fact that there isn't really much around. So the view wasn't beautiful in the classic sense, but still pretty cool and impressive. Go or not? The viewpoint is really far from the centre and you don't meet many people on the way there or at the viewpoint itself. I'm pretty fearless when it comes to things like these, but I can understand if someone feels uneasy in a situation like that for various reasons. However, if that doesn't put you off, I would recommend going because it's the coolest thing in Chihuahua, the view is really good, and I've rarely seen such straight and parallel streets from a viewpoint :D😊

Chihuahua

Okay, first things first: the most spectacular and coolest thing about Chihuahua is that it's in the desert. :D Now for the rest. Chihuahua is... I would say one of the largest cities in the north of Mexico, but still small compared to other major cities in Mexico. At the same time, there isn't really much to see in Chihuahua – I'm being honest. Both of these things are probably due to Chihuahua's location (in the middle of the desert). The city itself is quite nice, the centre is cute and quite lively, but apart from one admittedly pretty cool viewpoint, that's about it. Means: Chihuahua is ideal for arriving here with the Chepe/from Creel or, conversely, for travelling from here to Creel/with the Chepe towards Los Mochis and taking the day to stroll through the centre and climb up to the viewpoint. Because from Chihuahua, you then return to more populated areas of Mexico. The Chepe route, including Creel, is not very busy and not very well connected. So I would use Chihuahua as a nice stopover and, if you don’t like night buses, spend the night there or continue your journey straight away. Go or not? Yes :D And I would definitely spend a few hours in Chihuahua if I were there, just to look around. Because... who can claim to have been to Chihuahua (especially since there are animals of the same name 😉)?

Lake Arareko

Peaceful, truly beautiful, a great hike and super close to Creel. Creel itself is a really small town, or rather village, in the north of Mexico pretty far away from everything. Apart from that, Creel doesn't really have many touristy things to offer. However, the surrounding nature is really beautiful and one of the areas you can explore is right around Lake Arareko. At the time, me and my travel buddy paid a small extra charge to be driven to the lake, from where we then walked back to the Valle de las Ranas via a hiking trail. It was a very beautiful hike through coniferous forest, which personally reminded me a little of northern Spain, where there is a similar natural landscape near a place from my childhood. At least, it somehow felt familiar to me. The hike itself was not difficult at all and mostly fairly flat. Every now and then you had to search for the path a little, but everything was quite good and easy to find. And in terms of nature, it was very different from the rest of Mexico, but very cool precisely because of that. I had never seen such flat expanses and quite ‘dry’ and stony terrain before. One thing you should know though: as easy as the hike may be in terms of the path, the distance we covered was quite a “big” one as we walked back to Creel from the Valle de las Ranas as the trail had brought us back there. And I, for sure, was pretty happy when we finally were back in Cree and really did not feel like walking any more. Meaning this is not for people who are lazy when it comes to walking. It's distance wise a real hike – even if the trail itself is easy. Do it or not? I think you should. The hike is really beautiful and completely different from the landscapes I had seen in Mexico up to that point.

Valley of the Frogs

Creel is a tiny little town – although in terms of size, I would actually describe Creel as more of a village – and is not particularly notable for its local sights, but rather for the surrounding nature. One of Creel's tourist highlights is the Valle de las Ranas, translated Valley of the Frogs. These are medium-sized rock formations of which one or two actually resemble frogs when viewed from a certain angle. As the Valle de las Ranas covers a large area, there are also numerous other rock formations, such as mushrooms. The valley itself is really large and wide and is surrounded on all sides by mountains and/or coniferous forest. In one corner, there is something like a cemetery – at least that's how I interpreted what I saw – in another, there is a small church, and near the rock formations, there is also a small hut next to which clothes were hanging on a clothesline to dry when I was there. At the far back, I also saw a man ploughing the fields by hand. What I mean by that is... it's not just an attraction, but without it being immediately obvious, you also enter people's living space and witness that this super simple life, where everything was still done by hand and most of the times extremely hard physical labour, still exists. And I personally found that quite fascinating. Go or not? Creel is pretty much ideal for nature lovers and people who like peace and quiet and shy away from too many tourists. Because, as I said, there isn't really anything to see in Creel itself. But you can go hiking here and simply discover things that you don't find everywhere anymore. However, as Creel is quite far away from everything, I would leave it up to everyone to decide for themselves whether it's worth the trip. But you should definitely visit the Valle de las Ranas while you're there 😊

Viewpoint – El Divisadero

Sometimes one get’s lucky and finds beautiful places just like that. That was the case with this viewpoint. We were on our way back from ziplining and were leisurely walking along the canyon towards ‘home’. We had our eyes fixed on the canyon pretty much the whole time, taking photos, enjoying the view and still unable to really comprehend what we were actually seeing – yes, the canyon is THAT beautiful. At some point, we came to a kind of plateau where you could walk a little further in. So we followed our curiosity and suddenly we were standing in front of this incredible view – below us was my favourite view of the canyon. It was simply magical. The gently curved shape of the plateau gave the canyon a kind of semi-circle, and then there was this super-slim stone plateau towering up in the middle that no one will ever set foot on. And when you sit down properly, you feel as if you are sitting in the canyon with nothing beneath you – you can obviously also take photographic evidence of that 😉 Maybe that's why the view had such an effect on me. I'm a little adrenaline junkie. Because in terms of objective beauty, no view here takes anything away from the others. They are all breathtaking. Go or not? I hope everyone finds it, because it's really beautiful. Just hike along the canyon from the zipline towards the direction of Hotel Divisadero. And if you don't find it, the views are still amazing. And maybe you'll find another great one instead. I'm sure there are many, many more that I haven't found 😊

Mirador del Cielo – El Divisadero

Beautiful and breathtaking. I would say that best describes the view from the Viewpoint Del Cielo. I mean, all the views of the canyon in northern Mexico are simply incredible, but this one was definitely one of my favourites – though I do have quite a few :D It's relatively easy to find, as it's basically behind the hotel at Divisadero, up the path. Plus, the viewpoint is marked on Maps. The path winds its way up and down, sometimes a little bit, sometimes a lot, and you pass some really beautiful views of the canyon and even get a glimpse of the canyon itself. So you're kind of a little bit more ‘inside the canyon’. And that's really cool. When you finally arrive, you are greeted by a view that, at least for me at the time, made me say ‘wow’. And yes, absolutely, you can never get enough of the canyon. You are always completely fascinated by the incredible views. :D Go or not? Yep, definitely. No doubt about it. The hike is not difficult, the views and nature are great, and it is a hike genuinely in and along the canyon.

Canyon in the North of Mexico

The canyon in the north of Mexico is truly beautiful, one of the absolute highlights, and offers some absolutely breathtaking views (posts: El Mirador, El Mirador del Cielo, Viewpoint at the Canyon). You can get there with the Chepe, which I explain in a separate post. Why should you visit the canyon in the north of Mexico? Apart from the truly breathtaking views – my synapses took a while to understand what I was seeing – you can really enjoy walking or hiking along the canyon and constantly discover new and beautiful views. And each one is just as beautiful as the others. There is a ziplining park, which is perfect for all adventure seekers, and a public transport system that is basically non-existent. So you'll have to pay your hosts or the hotel – Uber obviously doesn't exist – or just walk (definitely possible depending on how keen you are to walk and how far it is). The canyon in the north of Mexico is simply... To be honest, I've rarely seen anything so beautiful in my life. Honestly. And in Mexico itself, there is little that can compete with the canyon in the north. Go or not? Since the canyon in the north can unfortunately only be reached by the Chepe, and the Chepe itself departs from a tiny village called Los Mochis (check out the post on the Chepe), I would say that it won't necessarily be possible on a trip to Mexico, but you should try. Because the experience is worth it.

Ziplining at El Divisadero

Ziplining in a canyon! I know this isn't for people who are afraid of heights or don't like heights, but for everyone else: the views are really great, you can really see the canyon and the ziplining itself is of course a loot of fun! 😊 And everything was absolutely safe, with excellent instruction in multiple languages. So let's go! :D How you get there depends entirely on where you're staying, because there's no public transportation or anything like that. Meaning you either walk, hitchhike (which could be tricky because there's hardly any traffic) or pay the people you're staying with to drive you there. At least that's how we had to handle it. Walking back afterwards was no problem and the best thing we could have done (views and all that 😉). I would also recommend booking/being there for a tour in the morning or early afternoon so that you are flexible afterwards (for possible exploration tours along the canyon). 😊 The price was reasonable. Of course it was rather cheap from a European perspective, but that's always the case with activities like this. go or not? To be honest, the experience itself was really cool. We zipped from one viewpoint to the next, walked across beautiful bridges with great views, and really got to see the canyon and its different levels. And since we chose the tour with the longest zip line, we also had the pleasure of enjoying this incredible view of the beautiful green canyon (turn to the right 😉). So, if you're not afraid of heights, definitely go for it. I'm a bit of an adrenaline junkie and I just loved it :D 😊

El Mirador – El Divisadero

Among backpackers, it is more known as ‘El Mirador’, but on Google and among Mexicans, I would rather refer to it as ‘El Divisadero (Barrancas)’. Nevertheless, regardless of what you call it, the view is breathtaking. Truly incredibly beautiful. My synapses were overwhelmed and took a while to understand what I was seeing – no joke. El Mirador being part of the Chepe or the canyon – depending on how you want to see it – is one of the most impressive views I have ever seen. And the canyon has not only this, but several other impressive views to offer. Since this post is exclusively about the Mirador, click here for the Chepe (the train ride that takes you to the Mirador), here for ziplining, here for the Mirador del Cielo and here for a viewpoint that we discovered completely by chance. At the Mirador itself, there are of course souvenirs and other items to buy, as well as a really chic and expensive hotel with a fantastic view, but we stayed elsewhere which was much cheaper. You should however book in advance and also check how to get there. It's not that easy to get from A to B once you're there, because there are no buses or anything like that. Go or not? Definitely go. The Mexican canyon and the Mirador right next to the railway tracks are more than worth it.

El Chepe

A train ride on the Chepe from Los Mochis through the countryside in northern Mexico is one of the coolest things you can do in Mexico. For me, this experience ranks in the top 3 of everything I've done in Mexico and is an absolute must-do when travelling through Mexico. And apart from that, I felt a bit like riding the Hogwarts train alongside Harry Potter through the countryside :D To give you a few key details up front: the train departs from Los Mochis and travels to Chihuahua. It stops at various places along the way where you can get on or off. You pay according to the distance you travel. You can travel first or second class on the Chepe. First class can be booked, but it costs so much that I immediately knew ‘nope’ (I don't remember exactly how much it was, but... expensive!!! Especially for (budget) backpackers, honestly not really affordable). First class is also colour-coded, the interior and the restaurant car look different, and as a second-class ticket holder, you are not allowed to enter first class – not even to look around or check out the view from the front. Since they probably thought I was looking for my seat (I just look like a gringa (American/tourist) to them), they didn't stop me when I went on an exploratory tour of the first class, but they did notice the second time when I was without my rucksack. So therefore I know: there is strict class separation here. Back to ticket prices. Second class is significantly cheaper because this is where the locals travel. However, it has the disadvantage that you have to ‘fight’ for your seat. This means arriving early and then, when the train arrives and the conductor allocates seats, being quick and getting the attention of the conductor before the other people waiting – and no, you can't just get on the train, you have to make sure the conductor sees you and assigns you seats, and then you can get on. I was just lucky that I'm taller than most Mexicans, speak Spanish and the train entrance was almost right in front of me. Also important to know: the train only runs about three times a week. And it only takes as many people as there are seats, and when it's full, it's full. And until someone gets off, no more passengers will be allowed on. This means you should board in Los Mochis, because otherwise you may end up waiting for nothing. And... if there are more people waiting in Los Mochis than can fit on the train, then you or the others are simply out of luck. And no, first class – as empty as it may be (and it was yawning during my exploratory tour) – will not be filled up. Last but not least, the stops: most backpackers, tourists or anyone else who isn't using the train purely as a means of transport will definitely not want to miss one particular stop: Barrancas del Cobre (official name of the station) / el Divisadero (the ‘official’ name of the sight, if you google it) / El Mirador (among backpackers). At this stop, there is a viewpoint overlooking the canyon and... to be honest, I have rarely seen anything so beautiful in my life. And not just at this spot, but this canyon is simply... amazing. Really. Since there are already really beautiful landscapes passing by before the Mirador, but according to my information, the most beautiful part of the landscape ends at the Mirador (i.e. the train does not continue along the canyon), I would recommend getting on at Los Mochis and getting off at the Mirador. There are really great things to do there, such as ziplining or simply walking or hiking along this beautiful canyon. It's 100% worth it. Soooo, let's get back to the experience itself :D At the beginning of the journey, everything is still a bit hazy and foggy outside, because you leave really early. But very soon it becomes really sunny and you pass some truly beautiful landscapes, drive over bridges, through tunnels and can even stick your head out and stuff. It really has that dog sticking its head out of the car window vibe :D It's truly an experience. And personally, I also felt like I had boarded at Platform 9 ¾ and was now on the Hogwarts Express with Harry, Hermione and Ron, heading for Hogwarts :D Take the Chepe or not? Admittedly, it's not thaat easy to have this experience because Los Mochis is a tiny village in the north-west of Mexico that's not super easy to get to, and you have to fight for a seat on the train, BUT! The whole thing was simply one of the coolest, most beautiful, most adventurous and most mind-blowing things I experienced in Mexico. And that's why YES. If it's possible, it's a hundred per cent a must-do.