Wirikuta, or Huiricuta, is the sacred desert of the Wixárika people, a high, arid plain at the foot of the Sierra de Catorce in San Luis Potosí. In Wixárika belief, it is the place where the sun was born, and each year pilgrims travel here from their homeland in the Sierra Madre Occidental, hundreds of kilometres away, to collect hikuri, the peyote cactus, which plays a central role in their ceremonies, and to leave offerings at sacred sites. Maxa Yaritsié is one of those sites. The Cerro del Quemado, the burnt hill, rising above the desert near Real de Catorce, is the most sacred of all, the place where the sun first rose. Visitors should behave with respect: these are living religious sites, not tourist attractions, and collecting peyote is illegal for non-indigenous people and deeply offensive to the Wixárika.
The landscape is hauntingly beautiful. The desert plain is covered with creosote bushes, yuccas, Joshua-like palms and many kinds of cacti, and it stretches to distant mountains in every direction. The light is intense and clear, the silence total, and at night the stars are extraordinary.
Real de Catorce, above the desert in the mountains, was a rich silver mining town in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, then almost abandoned when the mines closed, and it has become a destination for travellers drawn by its ghostly atmosphere, its ruins and its cobbled streets. The only road access is through the Ogarrio tunnel, a single-lane tunnel more than two kilometres long cut through the mountain, with traffic alternating in each direction. Before that, a long cobbled road climbs from the highway into the mountains; it is bumpy and demanding on a motorcycle, especially a heavy one, but the views are worth it. In town, the streets are steep and cobbled, and a pilgrimage church draws large crowds in October for the feast of Saint Francis.
The riding on the desert roads is straight and lonely, with long distances between towns and few services. The tracks into the desert itself are sandy and rough, suitable only for experienced off-road riders. The heat is intense in summer, and the nights are cold in winter.
Matehuala, about thirty kilometres away, has fuel, mechanics and restaurants. Carry plenty of water and fill up before heading into the desert. Check the travel advice for San Luis Potosí before you go.