Copper Canyon

Deeper and larger than the Grand Canyon of Arizona, the Copper Canyon (Barranca del Cobre) is really five interconnected canyons created from rivers that drain an immense area of the Sierra Madre of west Mexico. The extremes in elevation create an amazing array of habitats from top to bottom, and the results are a high diversity of plant and animal life.

There are certainly places that offer the opportunity to see more species of birds, but few with the accompanied scenery and the fantastic addition of the Tarahumara Indian culture that is found throughout the canyon. Another added attraction is one of our methods of transport along the way, the engineering marvel called the 'Chepe', the Copper Canyon train!

This trip starts in the coastal lowlands of northwestern Sinaloa in the industrious city of Los Mochis, our base for the first two nights. Los Mochis (the sea turtles in the Mayo language) was originally conceived as a utopic community in the early 1800's. We will spend one day exploring the city's botanical garden and taking a trip out into the sea of Cortez. We travel through a number of interesting habitats and life zones as we climb from the coastal lowlands and into the tropical deciduous forest and eventually into the pine-oak of the Sierra Madre. We have timed this tour to give us the best chance to see a couple of very special birds, the Eared Quetzal being the big one. This is also a great trip for seeing a number of highland Mexican endemics and specialties including White-striped Woodcreeper, Mountain Trogon, Rufous-capped Warbler, Striped and Rusty Sparrows, White-throated Robin, Spotted Wren and large array of Hummingbirds. The upper elevations and canyons are the traditional home of the Tarahumara Indians, an ancient culture that is amazingly still quite intact due to the remoteness of their home. We will have the opportunity to see some of their villages and purchase their crafts.