These are the best places to travel this summer

Copper Canyon & Northern Mexico

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Shop Book
Train on the railroad line between Creel and Posada Barrancas, Chihuahua, Mexico

Getty Images/Altrendo

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in Copper Canyon & Northern Mexico

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

Northern Mexico is the ultimate frontier land: vast cactus-strewn deserts, craggy mountains and breathtaking canyons define this most iconic of regions, which is familiar to almost anyone from its role in countless Wild West movies. If the landscape is diverse, then the people of the north are equally so: cowboys, revolutionaries and bandits have, over the centuries, left their mark on the region, while the varied and still deeply traditional indigenous peoples remain some of Mexico’s least Westernized.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Horno 3, a blast furnace turned museum located in Parque Fundidora in Monterrey.

    Horno3

    Monterrey

    Blast Furnace No 3 in the former industrial site of the Parque Fundidora has been converted into Horno3, an exceptionally impressive high-tech, hands-on…

  • Overlooking Monterrey, Mexico from Parque Ecológico Chipinque.

    Parque Ecológico Chipinque

    Monterrey

    This stunning mountainside reserve is just 12km from downtown Monterrey. There's great hiking and mountain-biking on over 60km of well-marked trails…

  • Paseo Santa Lucia, Monterrey, Mexico.

    Paseo Santa Lucía

    Monterrey

    The stunning 2.3km promenade of Paseo Santa Lucía is a world-class example of urban regeneration. This (artificial) river forms a turquoise ribbon through…

  • Museo de Historia Mexicana in Monterrey.

    Museo de Historia Mexicana

    Monterrey

    This sleek modernist museum on the Plaza 400 Años presents an extensive but easily manageable chronological history of Mexico. In the heart of the museum…

  • Valley of the Monks.

    Valle de los Monjes

    The Copper Canyon & Ferrocarril Chihuahua Pacífico

    Around 7km east of San Ignacio's town center, through verdant farmland, is the Valle de los Monjes. A spectacular outcrop of vertical red rock formations…

  • Reserva de la Biosfera El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar

    Reserva de la Biosfera El Pinacate y Gran Desierto de Altar

    Sonora

    About 30km from Puerto Peñasco are the lunar landscapes of El Pinacate, one of the driest places on earth. This remote, spectacular 7145-sq-km reserve is…

  • Bosque Secreto

    Bosque Secreto

    The Copper Canyon & Ferrocarril Chihuahua Pacífico

    Five hundred years ago, over 550,000 sq km of dry tropical forest stretched down the coast from northern Mexico to Panama. Today only 2% of virgin forest…

  • Isla San Jorge

    Isla San Jorge

    Sonora

    Also known as Bird Island, Isla San Jorge is one of the best boat excursions in northern Mexico. This rocky island 40km southeast of Peñasco is home to…

Plan with a local

Get a book. Get inspired. Get exploring.

in partnership with getyourguide

Book popular activities in Copper Canyon & Northern Mexico