Terrace

Enjoy the most incredible views and prepare your camera to take the best pictures while breathing the fresh air of the Sierra Tarahumara.

• Terrace with folding windows
• 2 snack and drink bars
• Lounge area
• Premium audio system
• 1 HD screen
• 1 luxury bathroom 

• Restaurant Urike

  Get to know the flavors of the sierra through seasonal dishes, in a two-level car in which you will not miss any details of the landscape thanks to its panoramic dome. Remember it’s of utter importance to reserve your place

  1st level

  • Panoramic windows
  • 6 tables for 4 diners each
  • 4 HD screens
  • Premium audio system

  2nd level

  • Dome type windows
  • 6 tables for 4 diners each
  • Premium audio system

  Gallery

  

  Indigenous communities

  Rarámuris

  The Tarahumara call themselves Rarámuri, meaning ‘runners on foot’ from the roots: rara (foot) and muri (to run)

  They live in the part of the Sierra Madre Occidental that crosses the state of Chihuahua and the southwest area of Durango and Sonora. The state of Chihuahua has 67 municipalities and the Raramuri are concentrated primarily in Guachochi, Norogachi, Bocoyna, Urique, Nonoava and San Francisco de Borja.

  The Tarahumara are known for their physical endurance and their running techniques, which have led them to take the top spots in ultramarathons.

  The Tarahumara live on ranches. Their homes are built from wood, adobe and stone. The most common is homes made from laying pine logs horizontally, which are joined at the corners, filling the cracks with mud.

  The traditional dress of the Tarahumara women is a design from colonial times: flowing pleated skirts or sipuchaka and loose-fitting blouses or mapachaka. The skirts and mapachaka are reversible. In their daily dress, women wear three or four skirts, and for celebrations, they add three more. Men wear shorts or wisiburka —with a longer point at the back—, with a woven sash and a loose-fitting shirt.

  Traditionally, women craft clay pots and pitchers; they also use palm to weave baskets of different sizes, while men make violins, bows and drums, and carve wood figures.

  Their language belongs to the Uto-Aztecan family and has various dialects. There are no aggressive words or hostile acts. There is a poetic nature to everything: “I greet you with the dove that chirps, I wish you health and happiness with your loved ones”. From childhood, they are respectful of the environment and the importance of preserving it.

  Farming corn is one of their main economic activities. Farming also plays a fundamental role in their social organization and many of their celebrations are closely related to the crop cycle.

  The Tarahumara gather for celebrations accompanied by music played on violins, drums and flutes.

  May your visit to the Sierra Tarahumara be an unforgettable experience!!!

  http://www.chepe.com.mx/contacto

  Copper Canyon Tours

  The Copper Canyon, nestled in the Sierra Madre Range, is actually several large canyons boasting a grandeur four times larger than the Grand Canyon of the United States, although different in nature; narrower, deeper, and more verdant. Homeland to the reclusive Tarahumara natives, the Sierra Madre is rich in history and legend, haunted by the restless shadows of fallen warriors, martyred Jesuits and Pancho Villa’s army.
  The Copper Canyon qualifies unquestionably for national park and world heritage status. This world famous canyon system is one of Mexico’s natural, cultural and historic wonders.
  Located in in the middle of the legendary Sierra Madre Mountains of the northwestern Mexico’s state of Chihuahua, this immense series of canyons and ridges, covers 25,000 square miles of rugged territory.

  

  

  Native Tahamara Indians of Mexico

  The dignified and reclusive Tarahumara Natives are a tribe who have chosen to live apart from modern western culture. They live primitively, subsisting on corn, beans, and their livestock. In the winter they live in caves, moving into small log cabins in the summer. They are excellent weavers and produce fine wool blankets to provide warmth during the harsh winters of the canyon.

  Copper Canyon Elevations

  

  

  

  Creel Station: Where the Chepe and time stop

  

  Meeting the Mennonites of Mexico

  On the way to Ana’s house, Adrían (our guide) was in charge of telling us a little more about this Protestant religious group of the Lutheran church that was born in 1525 in Switzerland and arrived in Mexico in 1922 from Canada in one of their migratory movements which coincides with the end of the Mexican Revolution, to this day there are around 60,000 Mennonites in Chihuahu who are mainly dedicated to the field, cold meats and various activities.

  Ana is 25 years old, is married and has 5 children, she makes the clothes of her whole family, in her house she has a small dining room for those who want to know what they do and have for sale cookies, jams, cheese, cake among others delight. He speaks German, English, Spanish and Platch, the most common language among them and the only one spoken up to the age of 12, when they already have the opportunity to start learning other languages. At home there is no television, video games or jewelry, women wear long skirts, dresses but never pants. When she got married she did it in black, because for them it represents an elegant and serious moment, since then she wears a scarf of the same color on her head to show that she is a married woman, those who want to get married and feel ready must wear a white scarf .

  

  When we arrived at Ana’s house he greeted us with a smile, he still struggles a bit with Spanish but he speaks it quite well, he puts different flavors of jam, bread, ham and cheese on the table before bringing us the requeson empanadas and while I taste the jams I look at all the cookies that I have on my right, of all colors and sizes, my plan was to bring to Cancun some but the truth is that days later on board Chepe I ended up with them and yes, everything, everything It was delicious. Before leaving I start to play with Ana’s youngest son, he has incredible eyes, he lets me carry it and we play for a while before saying goodbye, not without first thanking him for all his attentions and continuing with our trip to Creel.

  

  Breakfast with Mennonites

  See also: Hotels in Chihuahua

  Creel, Magical Town and Portal to the Sierra Tarahumara

  From Cuauhtemoc to Creel are about 2 hours on the road , on the way we stop to buy at a store where they sell frozen popsicles of avocado (there was not that day so I was left wanting to try them) but I bought some soft drinks “Sabor Apple “of the region on the recommendation of Adrián that yes, they are richer than the one they sell anywhere. Since I arrived in Chihuahua everything was different, the vegetation, the colors, there was not the blue of my Cancun, but there were mountains and we had fun finding shapes to the stones and the hills. “That’s an Apache, that’s a lion” and that’s how time goes by talking about everything, playing and laughing, I’m a copilot with the camera in my hand, I do not want anything to escape, it’s the emotion of knowing a New place what has me with the view attached to the window.

  

  We arrive at Creel, one of the three Magic Towns of Chihuahua , and I realize that it is a small place, it is almost 3 in the afternoon and outside it is cool, for the night low temperatures are predicted and with good reason since this place is in one of the highest points of the state, even more than the Copper Canyon, the next morning we woke up to 5 ° C and everything was full of frost, winter is coming to Mexico and it can be felt with the cold wind of Chihuahua. It was here where I had the feeling of being in a very distant place, it did not look like Mexico and the best thing of all is that it was, I realized that we have nothing to envy to other countries, we have surprising places, we only need dare to discover it a little more and this feeling became bigger when we arrived at Villa Mexicana, our hotel for that night, to my surprise there were some cabins and everything was very rustic, a style that I particularly like.

  

  See here the circuit I was doing: “ Trip in Chepe from Chihuahua to the Mochis for 5 Days”

  I present to you Doña Petra!

  We left everything and returned to the road, our first stop was outside of Creel, where Doña Petra lives in a cave , yes, as they read it, she lives in a cave under some stones, the day I met her she was sitting sewing a skirt and she received us with a smile and a sense of humor worthy of admiration, she does not live there because she does not have a house but because she already wants that because she was born and has lived since then.

  

  Doña Petra

  Next to her cave, close by she has a house where the government once tried to relocate her, even though she prefers to sleep and inhabit the place that has always been her home, where she has chickens, dogs and along with her daughter and granddaughter ( 10 months) sell bracelets and creams with products from the region. I must say that many people visit her for a while with her and she is a very warm person who also knows how to joke, if one day they have the opportunity to meet her, do it, she is an incredible lady who at 76 years of age looks very strong.

  

  Out of respect I did not want to take a picture inside her “house” but I must say that I was very surprised to know her and even more to know that she is happy living in a way as simple as many of us surely could not.

  Knowing the Arareko Lake …

  After the visit to Doña Petra we arrived at the Arareko Lake, I must say that it was the first time that I was in a lake, I had seen them in movies and I have always believed that they have a certain charm, as it was with this, with the people in paddling boats and forest trees, it was a quick visit since the hunger was beginning to be felt and while we were there I took the opportunity to take some pictures and get closer to see what ladies were selling at the shore of the lake where I bought a small a bracelet that today I carry with me everywhere.

  

  

  This beautiful lake is 5 km from Creel, not only is perfect to visit but you can camp and do different outdoor activities such as boat rides, horseback riding or mountain biking, is also Batosarachi, some cabins within a rarámuri community that are conditioned to rest and enjoy nature.

  Tours in Chihuahua? >> Here you can see them.

  Exploring the valleys of Creel

  In the morning before going to Copper Canyon we went to explore the valleys near Creel, this included the valley of the mushrooms, the frogs and one of the most famous, the valley of the monks, each of these valleys takes their names for the formations of their rocks worn by rain and wind, all are within Tarahumara communities and it is important to say that every time you enter a community you have to pay around $ 25 pesos directly to them, without intermediaries.

  

  In the Valley of the Monks you can see rocks almost 60 meters high , it is said that they are monks reflecting and it is such a quiet and quiet place that you can fully enjoy nature, you can even go up little by little and find yourself with big views.

  

  In each valley you come across Tarahumara selling handicrafts, that’s how little by little I got closer to them, Adrián knew some in each place we went to and he told us a little more about the history of each one, like the little one who arrived asking him for a ball the next time he visited. All their houses were far from each other for a simple reason that the guide explained to us “the Tarahumaras are given space because in that way they know they will not have problems with others, everyone solves their problems and does their best to maintain a good coexistence “ for me it was surprising to see how they walk a long time to get from one place to another, regardless of sometimes going down or how much they have to climb.

  On our return from the Valley of the Monks we went to San Ignacio, a Tarahumara community, we were going to visit the church dedicated to San Ignacio de Loyola, it is a small temple with an altar that has what it takes to keep the faith of its believers but what More surprised me was not what I found inside but outside, at the doors of the church, there was Rosita with almost 2 years, she was running around and around the yard while her mom sold dolls, bracelets and things she does. I was taking some crouched photos when Rosita went and she settled in front of me and He let us take a picture and then keep running around. I bought her mother a doll that I called rosita in her honor, to remember her always, she did not hesitate to give me the hand to walk and play a few minutes with me, reminding me what Adrián had just explained to us about the word “Korima” share how much or little you have , something that the Tarahumara believe very much, she gave me her confidence and that was enough to brighten my heart that afternoon in a place so far away that I usually call home. 

  Kuira Bá! = Hello 

  

  

  From here everything is different,  the landscapes in the chepe are incredible and it is worth starting from Creel the train journey to the ravines , the weather in this magical town is very cool and even if it is a very small place it has its charm , they make a craft beer that accompanied by a pizza is the perfect combination.

  I would have liked to stay at Creel for at least two days because I know I missed a lot, but in 24 hours I knew more than I would have imagined, one more reason to return and dedicate more time to this magical town of Chihuahua.

  

  

  ELI MONTEROJarocha of heart and cancunense proud, # Caribbean, work in MexicoDestinos.com, photographer at times, always writing something, living in paradise, fan of pizza, tea, books, and of course travel!