Creel stands at about 2,300 metres in the Sierra Tarahumara, in the state of Chihuahua, and it feels like a frontier town that never quite finished growing. Wooden-fronted shops, pickup trucks and a plaza with a church make up the centre, and the surrounding hills are covered in pine and oak, with the smell of woodsmoke in the cold evenings. The town was named after Enrique Creel, a governor of Chihuahua, and it grew up around the railway, the Chihuahua-Pacific line, one of the great engineering feats of Mexico, completed in 1961 after decades of work.
The area belongs to the Raramuri, or Tarahumara, the indigenous people famed for their running endurance, who live in scattered homesteads and caves throughout the sierra. Women in bright skirts sell woven baskets, wooden dolls and carved violins on the plaza, and men in sandals run long distances over the rocky trails. The Raramuri have kept their language and customs, and they are the key to the region's culture. Please ask before taking photographs, and buy their crafts directly, if you can.
Near the town, the landscape is a strange and beautiful one. The Valley of the Monks is a field of tall rock pillars, and Lake Arareko is a pretty pine-fringed lake a short ride away. Beyond lies the vast network of canyons known as the Copper Canyon, larger than the Grand Canyon in total area, a maze of gorges that fall to subtropical depths. The road from Creel to Batopilas drops into the canyon in a series of steep descents, with unsurfaced sections, and it requires care, particularly in the rainy season.
Creel has about five thousand people, and fuel stations, supermarkets and basic hotels. It is the last reliable place for fuel before the canyon roads, so fill the tank and bring spare fuel if you can. Nights are cold at this altitude, often below freezing in winter, and days can be hot in summer, so bring layers. The best seasons are spring and autumn, when the weather is dry and the light is clear, and the roads are safest. Ask locally about road conditions before setting out, since landslides and washouts are not uncommon after heavy rain, and check that your bike is in good shape.