The suspension bridge at Ojuela is the first thing most visitors see, and it hangs across a canyon in the desert of Durango like something out of a Western. Built in 1898 by the firm of the Roebling family, the engineers behind the Brooklyn Bridge, it spans about three hundred metres and carries the old mine track across the gorge to the entrance of the Ojuela mine. For years the bridge was in a bad state, and it has been restored for walkers, though you should cross carefully and listen to the guides.
Mapimí, about seven kilometres away, was founded in the late sixteenth century as a silver-mining town in the desert of the north, and the Ojuela mine was the heart of its wealth, producing silver, lead, zinc and later gold and copper. Tunnels run for many kilometres beneath the hill, and visitors can enter a section with a guide, seeing the rough timbers, narrow stairs and low tunnels that miners worked in. The town of Mapimí has been recognised as a Pueblo Mágico, with adobe houses, a pretty plaza and a small museum.
The country around is the Chihuahuan Desert, a land of creosote bush, mesquite, yucca and cactus, with hot summers, cold clear winters and almost no rain. Farther out in the same desert lies the Mapimí Silent Zone, where legend says radio signals fail and meteorites fall, though scientists have not found anything unusual. The Bolsón de Mapimí biosphere reserve, nearby, shelters a rare desert tortoise.
The roads are straight, flat and hot, with long, empty stretches between towns and sudden wind. Summer temperatures often pass forty degrees, and a hat and plenty of water are essential. Watch for livestock, potholes and trucks, and avoid riding at night. Mapimí has a small town centre with a fuel station, and the larger cities of Torreón and Gómez Palacio, about eighty kilometres away, have everything else, so fill up there before heading out.
Visit in spring or autumn, when the mine tunnels are cool and the desert is mild.