Founded in 1709, the city of Chihuahua (pop. 775,000) is considered the heart of the Northwest, thanks mostly to three centuries of havoc and gunfire. It was here that Conservative forces executed Mexican Independence martyr Manuel Hidalgo in 1811. It was here that Benito Juárez established his government-in-exile after the invasion of the D.F. by French Imperial forces under Maximilian. It was here that Pancho Villa marshaled his Revolutionary forces during the Porfiriato, and also where the General’s not-so-intact remains rest in peace. Though locked in memory, the city nonetheless remains aware of its current importance. Many characters saunter the wide streets of modern Chihuahua, from cowboy-clad vaqueros, Tarahumara weavers, Mennonite milkmaids, to the historically enlightened and culturally conscious Let’s Go budget traveler.
Don’t let the sheer size of Chihuahua intimidate you—all sights of interest are within walking distance of the centro. With the exception of Victoria, Aldama, Independencia, and Carranza, streets in Chihuahua are poorly lit and may be dangerous at night. Avoid walking alone.
While the numerous hotels on Niños Héroes near the marketplace may be cheap, their cleanliness and safety can be suspect. A better bet would be paying the extra 20 pesos per night to stay in a hostel next to the CHEPE train.
Chihuahua’s eateries favor function over form. The city’s many 1960s-style diners serve hearty meals for around 50 pesos a head. The small cantinas, where bands serenade drunken, rowdy men, guarantee cowboys late-night antojitos.
After you buy your cowboy hat and boots at the Mercado Libertad (Libertad between Independencia and Carranza), an even more eye-opening shopping experience awaits at Botánica Meza, Juárez 523, which sells a wide selection of herbs, talismans, milagros, magic powders, and charms to a serious clientele of curanderas (traditional healers) and the occasional witch. Even if you think it’s moonshine, don’t say so—botánica is not a good place to make enemies. (Open M-Sa 9am-2pm and 3-8pm; hours less predictable Su.) For produce and cheap clothing, Mercado Al Super, Mercado Soriano, and the surrounding shops on Niños Héroes are a more practical choice. A note for Chihuahua’s museums: more times than not, simply asking for assistance will get you a free private tour. Most museums are overstaffed and have English-speaking guides ready to help.
Museo Histórico De La Revolución. Also known as Quinta Luz, this 50-room mansion was the home of Pancho Villa’s (legal) widow Luz Corral, who maintained the museum and led tours until her death in 1981—60 years after her husband’s. It is by far the most frequented museum in Chihuahua and paints a vivid portrait of the life and times of Villa and the fascinating events surrounding the Mexican Revolution of 1910. Items on display include Villa’s personal effects, photographs, and heavy weapon collection. The star of the show is the bullet-ridden Dodge in which the unsuspecting Villa was assassinated in 1921. (Calle 10a 3010. Walk 1.5km south on Ocampo, turn left on 20 de Noviembre, go 2 blocks to Calle 10, and turn right. The museum is in the large off-pink building to the left. ☎416 2958. Open Tu-Sa 9am-1pm and 3-7pm, Su 10am-4pm. 10 pesos.)
Museo Regional De Chihuahua. Commonly known as Quinta Gameros, this building is one of the more stunning mansions in Mexico, and a prime example of the French art nouveau style. Mining engineer Manuel Gameros, the aristocrat who contracted the building (1907-11), never had a chance to live here before the Revolution drove him to Texas. The house, itself a magnificent work of art, was seized by Revolutionaries, and at one point served as Pancho Villa’s barracks and Venustiano Carranza’s home. Owned and operated by the Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, Quinta Gameros is dedicated to providing recognition to Chihuahua’s artists. The ground floor contains rotating exhibits from current local artists whose work is often for sale, while the upstairs houses an impressive collection of chihuahuense art from the past two centuries. (On the corner of Calle 4 and Paseo Bolívar, a 10min. walk from the cathedral. ☎416 6680. Open Tu-Su 11am-2pm and 4-7pm. 20 pesos, students and children 10 pesos; W half-price.)
Palacio De Gobierno. A 19th-century testament to chihuahuense history, the palace holds imposingly large Aarón Piña Mora murals, with flames marking the spots of Hidalgo’s and Allende’s executions, as well as a nude statue of Emiliano Zapata, whose modesty is maintained by a well-placed rifle brandished upright by a fallen comrade. It also houses the ever-helpful tourist office and two brand new museums. El Museo Galería de Armas displays a collection of weapons used during Mexico’s many wars, including a 3m long rifle used by the Spanish. El Museo de Hidalgo depicts the life and times of Miguel Hidalgo with audio-visual commentary (English language assistance available). Although free at the moment, museum prices are subject to change. Contact the tourist office for details. (At the center of Chihuahua on Aldama and Victoria. Palacio open daily 8am-7pm. Museums open Tu-Su 9am-5pm.)
Grutas De Nombre De Dios. Located 15min. from downtown in the cerros to the east of the city, this series of caverns contains fossils of fauna from the state’s prehistoric age, when the land was an inner sea. Time has carved a series of passages wide enough for a walking tour, but not quite deep enough for spelunking. Among the impressive formations are the locally dubbed “Quixote,” “La Torre de Pisa,” and “El Aguila.” Trained guides offer tours of the 17-room system. (At Av. Colegio Militar. ☎400 7059. Open Tu-F 9am-4pm. Contact the tourist office prior to visit for directions and tour prices.)
Museo De La Lealtad Republicana Casa De Juárez. This museum chronicles the years the Mexican government spent in exile during the Maximilian-Hapsburg reign. Spanish writings by Benito Juárez and timelines elaborate the renovated rooms of Juárez’s Chihuahuan home, where he lived from 1864 until 1866, when the Republican government was restored. The museum is an interesting glimpse of the influential minds and activists of Chihuahua’s past. (On Juárez between Independencia and Carranza in a rose building marked “Museo de Casa Juárez.” ☎410 4258. Captions in Spanish. Open Tu-Su 9am-7pm. 10 pesos, students and children 5 pesos.)
Palacio Federal. Constructed on the foundation of a much older Jesuit college that was the center of Spanish colonial Chihuahua, this Neoclassical building was finished in 1910. Walk down the stairs and to the back of the building to find the Calabozo de Miguel Hidalgo, the dungeon where Hidalgo was held by the Spanish government prior to his execution in 1811. The small entrance is visible several steps below street level. The museum displays his writings, crucifix, and the wall of his jail cell, on which he scrawled a few parting words to his captors with a piece of charcoal. (The entrance to the Calabozo is on Juárez. ☎429 3300, ext. 1056. Open Tu-Su 9am-6pm. 10 pesos, students and children 5 pesos.)
Cathedral. Due to Apache raids and the unpredictable nature of mining money, it took 100 years to construct Chihuahua’s Nuestra Señora de Regla y San Francisco de Asís. Finally finished in 1826, the beautiful Churrigueresque facade features the apostles and a large pipe organ. A great place to escape from the heat, the cathedral also attracts many visitors each day. In the southeastern corner is the small Museo de Arte Sacro, housing pastoral 18th-century religious paintings and a chair on which the late Pope John Paul II sat during his 1990 visit. (In the centro. Entrance is on Victoria. Open M-F 10am-2pm and 4-6pm. 20 pesos, students 12 pesos.)
For those interested in grabbing the bull by its horns, the Expogan, Chihuahua’s regional cattle show featuring rodeo, palenque, horse races, and fascinating agro-industrial exhibits, is held the first week of October. Chihuahua also sports its very own Plaza de Toros, at Reforma 2001. Corridas occur during the summer, but only intermittently—inquire at the tourist office for more details. Tickets run around 200 pesos in the shade and 150 pesos in the sun and can be purchased at the Plaza.
While Chihuahua has a disco scene in the Zona Dorada (north of the centro), visitors may prefer a more typical norteño evening at one of the many cantinas in the city. Cantinas are El Norte’s version of the traditional cowboy saloon, with dark wood interiors, endless rivers of tequila, and rowdy vaqueros. Lounging at a bar’s outdoor courtyard, and listening to live guitar music can be a more relaxed way to take advantage of Chihuahua’s beautiful nights.
Cuauhtémoc lies halfway between Creel and Chihuahua, a 1hr. bus ride from each. From Chihuahua, both Ómnibus de México (☎582 1201) and Estrella Blanca (☎429 0240) run 4 buses per day to Cuauhtémoc for about 69 pesos. Rapiditos Cuauhtémoc runs back and forth every 45 min for 64 pesos. Take the Aeropuerto or Circunvalación-1 buses from the corner of Niños Héroes and Independencia (4 pesos) to the Terminal Central del Autobuses. Cuauhtémoc’s Módolo de Información Turística, an information kiosk in the Plaza Principal on Morelos between Melgar and Suárez, offers general advice and will organize outings to local restaurants for groups of 5 or more. (☎581 3488. Generally open M-F 9am-1pm and 3-5pm, Sa 9am-noon.)
Cuauhtémoc is both a modern center for agricultural production and a supply station for the extremely conservative societies of the Germanic Mennonites and the indigenous Tarahumara. Buses to Cuauhtémoc travel through spectacular desert landscapes, which alone make the trip worthwhile.
For visitors passing through Cuauhtémoc on their way to or from Las Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon), the Mennonites and their tidy campos in the surrounding valley are the city’s main attraction. Founded in the 15th century, this German pacifist religious group moved from Europe to Russia to Canada trying to escape persecution and forced military service. After the British government forced Mennonites into military service during WWI, many migrated to Mexico with the stipulation that they would not fight any wars. Since the 1920s, they have become the most important agricultural producers in the state and enjoy traditional agrarian lifestyles in numbered campos.
To see the famous Mennonite cheese in production, your best bet is to head to La Quesería América, Campo 2b, a modern factory that uses traditional techniques. (☎587 7249 or 7300. Cheese about 50 pesos per kg. Open M-F 8am-6pm, Sa 8am-5pm.) The Museo de los Mennonitas, near the entrance to Campo 21, features displays on all aspects of Mennonite life, from agriculture to the home, and has a series of English-language videos on the history of the Mennonites. (20 pesos, ages 12-18 10 pesos. Open M-Sa 9am-5pm.)
Since many campos don’t allow visitors, the best way to see these sights is with a Mennonite guide. Jacob Harms Loepke, a member of the Mennonite church who used to live in the communities near Cuauhtémoc, conducts half-day tours of the above mentioned sites, traditional churches and schools, and even to a Mennonite household where you can buy fantastic homemade cookies (3 pesos each) and experience a traditional Mennonite buffet (50 pesos per person). Tours in English, German, and Spanish can be booked at the plaza tourist kiosks, or directly through Jacob Loepke by calling his cell phone (☎283 6971. 4-person groups 350 pesos. Tour bus for larger groups 150 pesos per person.)
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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