Mexico Tours

Los Milagros Hotel offers "small group tours" of 8 or 9 people to some fantastic sites in Northern Chihuahua. We have a modern 12 passenger van for your touring comfort.



We go on a regular basis to the Paquime Ruins in Casas Grandes.

Paquimé, Casas Grandes, which reached its apogee in the 14th and 15th centuries, played a key role in trade and cultural contacts between the Pueblo culture of the south-western United States and northern Mexico and the more advanced civilizations of Mesoamerica. The extensive remains, only part of which have been excavated, are clear evidence of the vitality of a culture which was perfectly adapted to its physical and economic environment, but which suddenly vanished at the time of the Spanish Conquest.

Paquime is a registered UNESCO World Heritage site.

We also visit Mata Ortiz< a unique community of Pottery artists, Mata Ortiz pottery is a recreation of the Mogollon pottery found in and around the archeological site of Casas Grandes (Paquimé) in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Named after the modern town of Mata Ortiz, which is near the archeological site, the style was propagated by Juan Quezada Celado. Quezada learned on his own to recreate this ancient pottery and then went on to update it. By the mid 1970s, Quezada was selling his pottery and teaching family and friends to make it and the pottery was able to penetrate the U.S. markets thanks to efforts by Spencer MacCallum and later Walt Parks along with Mexican traders. By the 1990s, the pottery was being shown in museums and other cultural institutions and sold in fine galleries. The success of the pottery, which is sold for its aesthetic rather than its utilitarian value, has brought the town of Mata Ortiz out of poverty, with most of its population earning income from the industry, directly or indirectly.

Colonia Juárez is a small town in the northern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. Colonia Juárez is located in the valley of the Piedras Verdes River on the western edge of the Chihuahuan Desert and beneath the eastern front of the Sierra Madre Occidental. It is roughly 9 miles (14 km) north of Mata Ortiz and 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Nuevo Casas Grandes. The town had a population of 1,035 in 2010. Established in 1886, the colony was named for the Mexican national hero Benito Juarez The colony was one of many colonies in Mexico settled by Mormon pioneers. This colonization was part of the larger LDS campaign to establish the State of Deseret while evading the anti-polygamy Edmunds Act of 1882. Although the town was planned before the end of polygamy, much of its growth in the late 19th century was due to Mormon immigrants leaving Utah and other parts of the U.S. due to their practice of polygamy. In addition, Mormon colonies outside of the U.S. proved financially important to the LDS Church during this time when the U.S. Federal government had confiscated much of Church holdings. There are many descendants of these colonies that have attained prominence in both countries, including Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts. In addition, many leaders of the LDS Church have roots in these colonies.

Cueva De Olla

Cave or Rock Shelter in Chihuahua, Mexico

Valley of The Caves

A Pre-Columbian settlement at a mountain site in northern Chihuahua, Mexico. The Valley of the Caves can be reached from nearby Nuevo Casas Grandes in northern Chihuahua. It contains many archaeological cave sites typical of those spread across the Sierra Madre Occidental. Dwelling remains, potsherds, and stone implements in the Casas Grandes style are abundant. What makes this area unique are two caves in particular, Cueva de la Golondrina (Swallow Cave) and Cueva de la Olla (Cave of the Pot).

Cueva de la Golondrina shows occupation back to 5500 BC, one of the earliest sites in all of Mexico. Cueva de la Olla is distinguished by a two meter diameter by 3.5 meters high granary that resembles a huge pot just within the entrance to the cave. The "olla" is of wattle and daub construction.
In addition to the granary, the remains of seven rooms can be seen. Made of adobe, the walls now stand only 150cms high. Occupation was from 950-1060 AD and the site is a fine example of the Mogollon Culture.
There are a number of other cave houses, “Window”, “Rincon”, “Corral”, “Slab”, and “Tau”.

Copper Canyon

Copper Canyon, in northern Mexico, is a series of massive canyons in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. Popular for hiking, it gets its name from the copper-green hue of the canyon walls. The famous Chepe (Ferrocarril Barrancas del Cobre) train connects the region via over 80 tunnels and nearly 40 bridges. Divisadero, a photo stop on the line, offers views into Urique Canyon.

Our tours are very affordable as you pay your own expenses and only give me a small amount to cover the cost of the van, insurance, and permits.



Please send me your email at philipskinner47@gmail.com and I will add you to our tour list and you will receive a notice when and where we are going.

TYPICAL TOUR TO THE PAQUIME RUINS



We will be leaving Los Milagros Hotel Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. and returning Sunday afternoon around 6 p.m. It does not matter if you are staying with us or not you are invited to join us for coffee and a continental breakfast at 8::00 a.m. before our departure at 9:00 a.m. After breakfast we will load up to go to the border to get our tourist permits.

The trip to Nuevo Casas Grandes will take us about 2 ½ hours. When we arrive, we will stop at our hotel and check in. We will only stay for about 30 minutes and then head out to get lunch. After lunch we will visit the Paquime Ruins. That should take us about 2 ½ hours. After the Paquime Ruins, we will return to the Hotel to rest awhile before heading out for dinner at 7:00 p.m.

The next morning, we will have breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and be ready to check out of the Hotel at 9:00. On our way to Mata Ortiz we will make a stop at historic Hacienda San Diego. Upon our arrival at Mata Ortiz we will go directly to the home and Gallery of master potter Ana Trillo for a pottery making demonstration. After that we will visit the homes and galleries of different potters. We will plan to leave Mata Ortiz around 1:00 p.m., with a lunch stop in Nuevo Casas Grandes.

We should arrive back to the Hotel in Columbus around 6:00 p.m.

FAQ’s:

*Better to take pesos for your purchases. I will help you exchange your dollars.

*Passports are necessary.

*Take a picture of your vaccination record and keep on your phone.

*I only drink bottled water in Mexico. Ice, where we will be eating is purified.

TYPICAL TOUR TO MATA ORTIZ, CHIHUAHUA

We will be leaving Los Milagros Hotel Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. and returning Sunday afternoon around 6 p.m. It does not matter if you are staying with us or not you are invited to join us for coffee and a continental breakfast at 8::00 a.m. before our departure at 9:00 a.m. After breakfast we will load up to go to the border to get our tourist permits.

The trip to Nuevo Casas Grandes will take us about 2 ½ hours. When we arrive, we will stop at our hotel and check in. We will only stay for about 30 minutes and then head out to get lunch. After lunch we will visit the Paquime Ruins. That should take us about 2 ½ hours. After the Paquime Ruins, we will return to the Hotel to rest awhile before heading out for dinner at 7:00 p.m.

The next morning, we will have breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and be ready to check out of the Hotel at 9:00. On our way to Mata Ortiz we will make a stop at historic Hacienda San Diego. Upon our arrival at Mata Ortiz we will go directly to the home and Gallery of master potter Ana Trillo for a pottery making demonstration. After that we will visit the homes and galleries of different potters. We will plan to leave Mata Ortiz around 1:00 p.m., with a lunch stop in Nuevo

Casas Grandes. We should arrive back to the Hotel in Columbus around 6:00 p.m.

FAQ’s:

*Better to take pesos for your purchases. I will help you exchange your dollars.

*Passports are necessary.

*Take a picture of your vaccination record and keep on your phone.

*I only drink bottled water in Mexico. Ice, where we will be eating is purified.