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 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! 😀
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 😀 😊

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.

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 😀
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 😀 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 😀 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 😀
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.