Durango

Durango is the northernmost Mexican state most dominated by the Sierra Madre Occidental: more than half of its territory is forested mountains, with vertiginous canyons, waterfalls, pine-oak forests, and an isolation that for decades made it the favorite filming location for Western filmmakers. More than 100 movies were filmed here, and the "Chupaderos" area 20 kilometers from the capital still preserves the original Old West sets.

The city of Durango has one of the most striking historic centers in the north: the Catedral Basílica, the Palacio de Gobierno with its murals, and the Teatro Ricardo Castro are legacies of 19th-century mining prosperity. The Mercado Gómez Palacio, with its art nouveau iron architecture, and the downtown portales create an atmosphere of authentic historic city, without the mass tourism found in other states.

The MEX-40D highway connecting Durango with Mazatlán crosses the "Espinazo del Diablo"—one of Mexico's most spectacular highway stretches—, with the Baluarte bridge 400 meters high above a canyon, the tallest cable-stayed bridge in Latin America at the time of its construction. The descent of 2,400 meters over 200 kilometers from desert to tropical jungle is a spectacle worth the trip on its own.

Pueblo Nuevo and El Salto, in the mountains, produce the country's best pine wood and are starting points for excursions to waterfalls like La Rana—with a 105-meter drop—and the Saltito, where the Tunal river water falls in curtains over a cave.