A New Road Connects Batopilas With Urique – The mayor of Batopilas, Leonel Hernandez, is actively and passionately involved in the construction of the newest road in the Copper Canyon. The new dirt road that goes from Batopilas to Urique was still under construction at the time of this writing, but is now complete. It is was only lacking 15 meters of hard rock that needed to be blasted out but it is now finished the road is passable!

Mr. Hernandez takes personal charge of the completion of the road and can be seen walking along it in the photos below as he checks on the progress his workers are making.

This road now allows tour providers here in the canyons to travel more quickly from Batopilas to Urique and vice versa, a task that took 10 hours to do on the older ‘back roads’ than run through Tubares over serious 4×4 terrain. This road does have some 4×4 sections, and higher clearance vehicles are needed to traverse it, but one will be able to travel from Batopilas to Urique in only about 3-4 hours now that this road is completed. As a bonus, this road goes through the heart of both Batopilas and Urique Canyons, allowing one to see ‘top of the world’ views that were only possible to see before by rigorous hiking.

The traditional road from the main highway to Batopilas is now being paved and though it will take years to complete, that road will allow easier access for the masses into Batopilas, a famous old Silver Mining Village from the 16th century and the highlight to any Copper Canyon visit.

Once that main road is completely paved, it was thought that the biking and motorcyling enthusiasts who have enjoyed its rugged appeal would be displaced. However, this is no longer true as this new dirt road from Batopilas to Urique also connects to the road to Samachique that connects ultimately to the paved road heading to Creel and Guachochi, thereby creating an alternate route for those that want to get out into the canyons where pavement has been left behind.