Chihuahua Overview

Pottery from Chihuahua

Chihuahua is Mexico’s largest state, extending over 247,084 square kilometers. To the north it borders the U.S.; to the west, the state of Sonora; to the southwest, the state of Sinaloa; to the south, the state of Durango, and to the east, the state of Coahuila. Its name derives from the Náhuatl language, meaning “dry, sandy place”, which is not surprising considering its extensions of desert, but in addition to the arid zones, Chihuahua includes regions of dramatic mountain scenery, lush and fertile valleys and thundering waterfalls surrounded by forests and vegetation.

Chihuahua City

The capital of the State of Chihuahua, Chihuahua City, originally named San Felipe de Real de Chihuahua and today affectionately called the “Lady of the Desert”, was founded in 1709 and now is a charming mixture of colonial architecture and modern industry.

The Founding Father of Mexico, hero of the Independence movement, father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, was kept prisoner in this city, in a building which is now the Government Palace; he was executed in its central patio on June 11, 1811.

Attractions & Places of interest:

• Quinta Luz – now the Museum of the Revolution – is also known as “Pancho Villa‘s House¨. This 50 room mansion and former resident of Villa is located on Calle 10 Norte No. 3014
• Santa Eulalia mines at Aquiles Serdán a few miles above the city, with its Templo de Santo Eulalia de Mérida.
• Cultural University Center & Regional Museum – Archaeological and historical exhibits are housed in Quinta Gameros, an important example of French Nouveau architecture built during the Porfirian era. Built 1907-11 for mining engineer, Manuel Gameros.
• The ornate, pink stone Cathedral is located on the Plaza de Armas in the center of the city. Built in the 18th C., It took nearly 100 years to complete.
• Casa de Juarez, Calle 5a and Juárez. Residence of Benito Juárez in 1864.

Hotels in Chihuahua City

The Copper Canyon

Copper Canyon, Chihuahua

Mexico’s Copper Canyon or Barranca del Cobre is a system of many deep canyons and gorges in north-western Mexico, with the greater part being encompassed by the state of Chihuahua along the Sinaloa border. Accessed by a few roads from the interior and via the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railway (El Chepe), this remote area offers spectacular views, opportunities for backpacking and camping tours, visits to waterfalls and to Jesuit missions that were established in the territory. The major canyons of the Copper Canyon system are much more extensive than even the Grand Canyon, some of them well over a mile deep.

Casas Grandes area

A fertile valley in northwestern Chihuahua, the Casa Grandes area is home to the ruins of Paquimé Casas Grandes, a cultural and trade center that reached its peak during the 13th and 14th centuries. Pottery was one of the principal wares of trade, and today the potters of Mata Ortiz are some of the finest, using traditional methods and hand-forming and painting their pieces.

Hidalgo del Parral

301 km south of Chihuahua City, Hidalgo del Parral is located in one of the richest mining area of the country – for silver and other minerals. The city was capital of the province of Nueva Vizcaya from 1640 to 1731, and played an important role in the 1917 revolution. In 1923, Pancho Villa was assassinated here, his remains later taken to Mexico City. Hidalgo del Parral offers the visitor views of some stunning architecture of the colonial era.. Its Temple of San Jose was constructed in the 17th C.; the old Hidalgo Theater for many years was a center of Masonic Lodges; St. Thomas’s Chapel and the Sanctuary of Guadalupe were first erected during the 16th C. The beautiful Alvarado Palace was built between 1899 and 1903, during the region’s mining boom at the end of the 19th C.

The Gastronomy of Chihuahua

The gastronomy of the State of Chihuahua includes many dairy products such as Chile con Queso and cheeses made by the Menonites of the region, as well as soups and dishes made of dried beef and jerky, jellied fruit desserts called ates, from such produce as peaches and quince, empanadas, and excellent northern-grown steaks.

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