Car Hire Camino Real

Guide

The El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro is a 1500 mile, multi-national monument of genuine importance that stretches across the Chihuahua desert. Since before the 1700's the El Camino Real was a commmunication and trade route that transversed much of the area now occupied by northern Mexico and the southwest United States - nowadays it is more easily travelled by car.

The lands covered by the El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro were at one time settled by many different peoples and they used it to conduct their lives. Mexican, Spanish, and Native American people traded and communicated via this interconnected network of roads and trails and this facilitated the development of those lands into what they are today.

Wheat, corn, sheep, wool, weapons, horses, carriages and silver passed north and south along the El Camino Real. All of this movement of goods and money turned many places along the El Camino Real into economic centers. Durango, Sombrerete, Chihuahua, Queretaro, El Paso, Santa Fe and Albuquerque are all cities that grew from tiny pueblos into the cities they are because of that trade.

Most of the El Camino Real follows the course of the beautiful Rio Grande (or Rio Bravo) from its beginning in Chihuahua to its end in present day Santa Fe, New Mexico and this beautiful river flows through desert.

The trail climbs from flat, dry lowlands in the south to windy peaks, of over 10,000 feet, at its north end. Summer days are hot and dry, nights warm and quiet. In the winter the desert blooms in ideal, cool weather, though at night it can reach freezing temperatures.

The El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro is a great place for quiet sightseeing and a romantic heart. With your own vehicle take your time to soak up the breathtaking sights, sounds and smells of the Chihuahua desert. Pacify your heart with the moving grandeur of the Rio Grande. Be swept away by mountaintop views of the Rocky Mountains.