Durango is a handsome colonial city in the north of Mexico, set on a high plateau at about 1,900 metres, with a baroque cathedral, tree-lined plazas and a relaxed, small-town pace for a place of half a million people. It was founded in 1563 by Spanish settlers, who came for the silver of the Sierra Madre, and for centuries it was a mining and ranching centre. In the twentieth century, Hollywood found the dry country around the city, and dozens of Westerns were filmed here, with John Wayne among the stars who came. Film sets still stand outside town and are open to visitors.
The roads from Durango head west toward the Pacific, and the most famous is the Espinazo del Diablo, the Devil's Backbone, a stretch of highway 40 that climbs the Sierra Madre Occidental toward Mazatlán. It is a legendary piece of road, with hundreds of bends carved into steep mountain terrain, narrow in places and dropping into huge valleys, with views of pine forest, rock walls and distant peaks. The modern toll highway now bypasses much of it with tunnels and bridges, including the Baluarte Bridge, among the highest cable-stayed bridges in the world, but the old road is still there for riders who want it.
Be careful on the old road: it is narrow, the surface varies, and lorries are slow on the uphills and quick on the downhills. Fog and rain can reduce visibility, especially in summer, and rockfalls occur. Start early and avoid the dark. Fuel is available in Durango and in the larger towns on the way, but gaps exist in the mountains, so keep the tank full and do not rely on small villages.
Durango has a rich food tradition, with caldillo durangueño, a beef stew with chile, and the famous local cheese, and mezcal is made in the region too. Walk the plaza in the evening, when the cathedral is lit and families come out to eat ice cream. The dry season is October to May, with cold nights in winter at that altitude. Pack layers, because the temperature changes dramatically between the plateau and the coast.