State · Noroeste e Barrancas del Cobre

Durango

Durango, in the north: the historic center of the capital and the cathedral, the settings for western films, the Ojuela Bridge and the Devil's Backbone road.

In the photo: El Saltito Waterfall, Durango

Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.

The state

Get to know Durango

Durango lies in northern Mexico, between the high plateau and the Sierra Madre Occidental. It is a state of mountain ranges, pine forests, deserts and canyons, less visited than its neighbors, with a colonial capital and a history tied to mining and cinema.

The capital, Victoria de Durango, has a historic center of plazas and mansions, with the Baroque Catedral Basílica, and is part of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, a World Heritage route. The cable car takes you to Cerro del Mercado, a mountain of iron ore beside the city.

The dry landscapes around the capital served as settings for dozens of western films, and film-set towns, like those on the Paseo del Viejo Oeste, can be visited. In the northeast, near Mapimí, the suspended Ojuela Bridge spans a canyon next to an old mine.

In the west, the highway between Durango and Mazatlán crosses the range via the section called Espinhaço do Diabo (Devil’s Backbone) and the Baluarte Bridge, one of the highest cable-stayed bridges in the world. On the table, caldillo durangueño, a stew of dried meat with chili.

When to go

Between October and May there is little rain and the sun appears almost every day; from December to February the nights are cold. From June to September it rains in the afternoons and the highlands turn green. Durango is 3 hours behind Brasília.

Getting there

Durango airport (DGO) receives flights from Mexico City and from some cities in the country and the United States. From Mazatlán, the capital is about 3 hours away via the highway that crosses the mountains. For the western film sets there are tours and you can drive from the capital.

Your questions

Frequently asked questions about Durango

What to see in Durango?

The historic center and the cathedral, the Cerro del Mercado cable car, the western film sets and the Ojuela Bridge.

How to get from Mazatlán to Durango?

By the highway that crosses the Sierra Madre, with tunnels and the Baluarte Bridge, in about 3 hours.

Can the western film sets be visited?

Yes. Some film-set towns welcome visitors, with performances and tours departing from the capital.

What is the Ojuela Bridge?

A suspension bridge over a canyon, near Mapimí, built in the 19th century to serve a mine.

Tap a state to see its destinations. Limites: INEGI / geoBoundaries (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Adaptação do Cidade Turismo.