Nuevo Casas Grandes (Ncg) Overview

Nuevo Casas Grandes (pop. 80,000) is an aging, dreadfully quiet town in the blistering Chihuahuan desert where vaqueros (Mexican cowboys) still run the streets. NCG arose at the beginning of the 20th century after a group of pioneer families from Casas Grandes moved their kids—children and goats—to the newly constructed railroad station. Nuevo Casas Grandes is still an agricultural center, but the city itself is of little interest to the budget traveler, other than as a base for exploring surrounding archaeological sites. Of these, the most popular are the ruins of Paquimé, Casas Grandes’s Zuñi namesake and Gran Chichimeca, northern Mexico’s pre-Hispanic capital.

Transportation. Nuevo Casas Grandes is most easily reached by bus, and the ride into town through the Sierra Madre is breathtaking, albeit painfully hot. To get from the bus station on Obregón and 16 de Septiembre to the centro, walk one block on 16 de Septiembre to Constitución, which runs past the railroad tracks that form the backbone of the city. Chihuahuenses and Ómnibus de México (☎694 0780) run buses to: Chihuahua (4hr., every hr., 206 pesos); Ciudad Juárez (3hr., every hr., 161 pesos); Cuauhtémoc (6hr., 3 per day, 175 pesos); Monterrey (16hr., 6 per day, 737 pesos); and Nogales (8hr., 1 per day, 330 pesos.) Taxis loiter near the corner of 16 de Septiembre and Constitución but most places in Nuevo Casas Grandes are only a short walk from the city center.

Practical Information. Constitución, Calle Juárez, 5 de Mayo, and 16 de Septiembre form the grid that is the city center. The tourist office is located on Benito Juárez and Ignacio Zaragoza, near the car dealerships. (Open daily from 9am to 5pm), Casa de Cambio California, Constitución 207 offers currency exchange. (☎694 3232 or 4545. Open M-Sa 9am-6pm.); several banks line 5 de Mayo; most have 24hr. ATMs. Laundry services are available at Lavasolas la Chiquita, Minerva 423, right before Madero. (Wash, dry, and detergent 30 pesos per kg. Open daily.). Other services include: emergency: ☎060; police (☎694 0973), on Blanco and Obregón; IMSS hospital at 1961 Benito Juárez Ave; Farmacia Benavides, on the corner of 5 de Mayo and Obregón. (☎694 3545. Open daily 7am-11pm.); LADATELs at most street corners; phone cards can be purchased at Celcom (☎694 6876) on 419 Constitución Ave; Copias y Fax, at Obregón and 5 de Mayo, offers Internet access (☎694 6876; 20 pesos per hr.; copies 0.60 pesos; open daily 8am-9pm.); and the Post Office at 16 de Septiembre and Madero. (☎694 2016. Open M-F 9am-3:30pm.) Postal Code: 31700.

Accommodations And Food. The rooms at Hotel Paquimé 5, Benito Juárez 401, come with white tile floors, spotless bathrooms, hot tub, kitchenette, full bar, and valet parking. (☎694 1320; hotel paquime@paquinet.com.mx. Singles 270 pesos; doubles 340 pesos.) At Hotel California 5, 211 Av. Constitución, there are no mirrors on the ceiling; there is no pink champagne on ice. Nonetheless, large, spotless rooms with A/C and satellite TV offer a comfortable stay. (☎694 1110 or 2214; fax 694 0834. Singles 325 pesos; doubles 350 pesos. Cash only.)

Most of NCG’s restaurants cluster on Constitución and Juárez between 5 de Mayo and Urueta. NCG’s more expensive restaurants combine American diner decor with norteño cuisine. Tortas Chuchy 2, on Constitución and 5 de Mayo. offers an extensive selection of excellent tortas (sandwiches), grilled hot dogs and convenience store junk food, with a sputtering fan and a television tuned to fútbol in the corner. (Torta, drink, and fries combo 25 pesos. Cash only.) A family business for over 50 years, Restaurante Constantino 4, on Juárez at Minerva, serves up hot comida on red-and-white checkered tables. Chicken tacos 45 pesos. Steaks 80-110 pesos. (☎694 1005. Open daily 7am-midnight. MC/V.) Supermercado el Triunfo, on Constitución and 2 de Abril, is a brand-new, air-conditioned and well-stocked supermarket. (Open M-Sa 7am-8pm, Su 7am-4pm).

Las Ruinas De Paquimé

Best visited as a daytrip from Nuevo Casas Grandes, Paquimé is an easy 15min. walk from the town of Casas Grandes. From NCG, catch a yellow bus labeled “Pueblo” from the intersection of Constitución and 16 de Septiembre (10min., every hr., 5.50 pesos). Get off at the main plaza of Casas Grandes and walk back in the direction the bus just came on Constitución. A few bends in the road lead to Paquimé. Be sure to note the return bus to NCG does not depart until 4pm

Up until colonization, the entire valley surrounding Nuevo Casas Grandes was filled with loosely allied indigenous villages. At the center of this cultural network was the city of Paquimé, the ancient hegemon of all Gran Chichimeca (see below). Today, many archaeological sites of the Chichimecan system can be easily explored from NCG.

The huge network of crumbling adobe walls rising out of the desert plain just beyond the old town of Casas Grandes comprises what used to be the commercial center of Gran Chichimeca, a pre-Hispanic indigenous civilization. The inhabitants of Paquimé, a people culturally related to the Anasazi of the American Southwest, once built cisterns and aqueducts to trap rainwater in order to irrigate the bean and corn fields. Paquimians used minerals and shells mined from the Sierra Madres as currency, and revered the Guacamaya Verde (Military Macaw), a green-plumaged bird used in many religious ceremonies. Decadence in the 15th century caused the city to fall into ruin about 100 years before the arrival of the Spanish and the torching of the city that followed. The attached museum contains an amazing collection of artifacts found on-site, including religious items and exquisite pottery, with explanations in English and Spanish. The museum also features a miniature model of the city to help explain the partially eroded site. On Allende, one of the roads leading up to Paquimé, about a half-dozen stores sell cheap “Paquimean” pottery. (Ruins and Museo de las Culturas del Norte ☎692 4140. Open Tu-Su 10am-5pm. 45 pesos, children and students free.

Other Sights In Gran Chichimeca. A bus leaves daily around 4pm from the corner of Constitución and 16 de Septiembre for Mata Ortiz (40km south of NCG), a town famous for its revival of Paquimé-style pottery. Be sure to ask around for the most accurate departure time, as bus schedules vary, and camiones only make one or two stops a day. When boarding, make sure to check when the last bus departs. On the way to Mata Ortiz, the dirt road passes Colonia Juárez (23km southwest of NCG), a Mormon colony founded by Latter-day Saints escaping the 19th-century prosecution of polygamy in the US. Although Colonia Juárez can be reached by staying on the “Pueblo” bus past Paquimé, most sites are inaccessible without a car; it is best to hire a guide who has a truck. Keep in mind that guides and hotel staff are a great source of information about the archeological sites.

Equally fascinating archaeological sites are at Arroyo de los Monos (35km southeast of NCG), which has ancient cave paintings, and Cueva de la Olla (55km southwest of NCG), a series of adobe structures built into a cave. About 254km southeast of NCG is Madera, from which the Cuarenta Casas site can be reached (54km north).