El Triunfo

In the late nineteenth century El Triunfo was the biggest settlement in Baja California Sur: silver and gold from the surrounding hills brought thousands of workers, English and Mexican mining companies, imported machinery and enough wealth that pianos were shipped around the peninsula for the town's parlours. The ore ran out, a hurricane and closures finished the job, and by the mid-twentieth century the place was nearly empty. What remains is unusually photogenic decay: brick smokestacks - the tallest, known as La Ramona and attributed by local tradition to Eiffel's workshops, stands about 35 metres - chimneys, furnace ruins, tailings and stone shells scattered across the hillside, with a small permanent community living among them. Two museums carry the story: the music museum, built around the pianos that survived, with regular concerts, and a mining museum in restored offices. A well-known bakery and coffee house draws travellers off the highway, and the surrounding desert hills are laced with old workings that guides can show safely.

What you actually see

• The smokestacks - brick chimneys over the desert town.
• The music museum - the pianos that came round the peninsula.
• The mine ruins - furnaces, tailings and stone shells.
• The bakery - the traveller's stop that revived the village.

When to go

November to April for comfortable desert days; the museums keep limited hours, so arrive mid-morning. Concert dates are worth checking ahead.

Honest expectations

Old workings are unstable and some ground carries mining contamination - stay on marked paths and with guides. The village is tiny; half a day covers it. Summer heat is severe.

Nearby

La Paz and Balandra lie north; the Sierra la Laguna canyons and Todos Santos are within an hour.