In the high desert of San Luis Potosí, below the mountains of the Sierra de Catorce, lies Wirikuta, the most sacred landscape of the Wixárika people, better known as the Huichol. Every year, pilgrims walk or drive hundreds of kilometres from their homes in the mountains of Jalisco and Nayarit to this semi-desert, following a route they believe their ancestors travelled at the beginning of time. According to their tradition, the sun was born on the hill called Cerro Quemado above Real de Catorce, and the desert is where they come to collect hikuri, the peyote cactus, which they consider a sacred plant and use in ceremonies. The various sacred sites along the pilgrimage, including this one, are on Mexico's tentative list for World Heritage.
The landscape is stark and beautiful: a wide plain of creosote bush, cholla and Joshua-like yuccas under a huge sky, with the bare mountains rising behind. The light at dawn and dusk is golden and soft, and the nights are cold, often near freezing in winter. This is not a place for tourists to pick peyote; the plant is protected, it is only legal for the Wixárika in their ceremonies, and respect for their sacred places is essential.
The riding is the real attraction for many. Real de Catorce, the old silver town in the mountains above the desert, is reached by a long cobbled road climbing from the plain, about twenty kilometres of shaking stones, and then through the Ogarrio tunnel, a single-lane tunnel more than two kilometres long, with traffic regulated in both directions. The town itself, once almost abandoned, is now partly revived with hotels and restaurants, and its stone houses and church, home of a popular image of St Francis, attract pilgrims of their own. On the desert side, dirt tracks lead across the plain, but sand and loose gravel make them hard work on a heavy bike.
There is nothing at all on the plain itself. The nearest fuel is in Matehuala and Cedral, on the plains to the east, and the shops in Real de Catorce cater mainly to visitors. Carry plenty of water, protect yourself from the sun, and do not ride in the desert at night, as cattle and other animals wander freely on the roads.