Real de Catorce

Real de Catorce was one of the richest silver towns in Mexico and held perhaps forty thousand people; when the price collapsed early in the twentieth century almost everyone left, and what remains is a small settlement of a couple of thousand living among the roofless shells of the rest, at around two thousand seven hundred metres in the high desert. The only road in runs through the Ogarrio tunnel, a former mine adit two kilometres long and wide enough for one vehicle, controlled by traffic lights at either end, which makes the arrival memorable. Cobbled streets climb between ruins to a church holding a much-venerated image of Saint Francis. Horses and jeeps take visitors out to the Pueblo Fantasma ruins and the desert plateau beyond.

What you actually see

• The Ogarrio tunnel - the two-kilometre single-lane mine adit that is the only way in.
• The ruined town - roofless silver-era buildings among the inhabited streets.
• The church of Saint Francis - the pilgrimage image and its wall of retablos.
• The high desert - horseback and jeep trips out to the plateau and ghost workings.

When to go

October to April is drier and clearer; the altitude keeps it cool year-round and cold at night. The Saint Francis pilgrimage in early October fills the town completely. Weekdays are very quiet, which suits the place.

Honest expectations

The altitude is nearly two thousand seven hundred metres and visitors feel it on the steep cobbled streets. The tunnel is single-lane and controlled, so there can be a wait at either end. Facilities are simple. The surrounding desert is sacred to the Wixárika people, who make an annual pilgrimage here, and peyote tourism is both illegal and deeply resented locally.

Nearby

Matehuala is an hour below; San Luis Potosí city is three hours south.