Los Mochis

Los Mochis is a small town in the north of Sinaloa likely most famous as the penultimate stop on the El Chepe train that arrives from the fantastic Copper Canyon and Chihuahua. Those not traveling on to the fantastic Topolobampo Bay will get off here to discover a friendly and historic town of markets and and hearty people. It's all laid out around the fantastic Botanical Garden that serves as a park and educational center, and sets much of the tone for the entire town of some 300,000 souls. 

Between the sea, its own fertile valley, and the mountains in the distance, Los Mochis is named for a species of round-leafed ground cover plant called, at least scientifically, Boerhavia coccinea.  The local name for this plant, in the Cahíta language of the region, was mochi, and the area was so named for the abundance of these small and unassuming green plants. The port on the Topolobampo Bay to the south is not just a shipping port but a place of sunsets and and long walks along the edge of the sea.

It's a long trip, sometimes 11.5 hours, but a lot of people end up in Los Mochis traveling to or from the belovedLa PazinBaja California Sur. The trip across the sea is once in a lifetime stuff and for lots of visitors, Los Mochis is a stopover before continuing on to Chihuahua. A tremendous stopover it is too. ​

The Emerald City, as it was once known, remains proud of its long history and its contribution to the culture and peoples of Mexico. You can sense this in the dynamism of its several public markets where everything is being cooked, nearly every day.  

Most people will get to Los Mochis from the state capital at Culiacan. A bus from there will take not quite four hours. A whole range of bus lines make the trip multiple times daily.