Destinations > Durango
Durango Travel Guide
Everything you need to know about planning a trip to Durango, Mexico
DURANGO TRAVEL GUIDE CONTENTS
Quick Info | Durango Map | Places To Visit | Things To Do | Events | Hotels | Fun Facts
Durango is situated northwest of Mexico and is the fourth largest state, covering an area of 123,451.2 kilometers. It accounts for about 6.3% of the entire territory of Mexico. The name of its capital city, Victoria de Durango, was taken from Guadalupe Victoria, the first President of Mexico.
Durango has four regions; La Quebrada, the Sierra, the Valleys, and the Semi-desert. It is home to four indigenous ethnicities; Tepehuans (North and South), Huichols, Tarahumaras, and Mexicaneros.
The state is known internationally for two major things; “Land of the Scorpions” and “Land of Cinema.” The region is home to many species of scorpions, especially in the colonial areas. Durango is also a favorite filming location by directors and producers from the 1950s to the 1980s.
✈️ Durango Travel Guide: Quick Info
- 🇲🇽 Capital: Durango
- ⏰ Timezone: Central Standard Time (GMT-6)
- ✈️ Airports: Durango International Airport
- 🌆 Major Cities (population): Durango (526,659) Gómez Palacio (304,515) Ciudad Lerdo (129,191) El Salto (47,104) Santiago Papasquiaro (41,539)
- 🚩 Size/Area: 47,560.4 square miles
- 🧑🤝🧑 Population: 1,509,117 (2005 Census)
- 📅 Year of Statehood: 1825
🗺️ Durango Mexico Map
📍Places to visit in Durango Mexico
Durango City
Nombre De Dios
Mapimi
🏄♀️ Things to do in Durango Mexico
Cueva de los Riscos de Santiago
Grutas del Rosario
Sierra del Sarnoso
🛏️ Hotels in Durango Mexico
🪅 Durango State Events and Festivals
Mountain Biking Race
June
Mexican Film Festival
May
Mapimi Founding Anniversary
July
💡 Durango Fun Facts
- The crown atop Durango’s coat of arms signifies that the state was once ruled by the Spanish crown. In the central framed area, two wolves can be seen jumping in front of a tree, a scene common to the folklore of Biscay Province, Spain, the home of many Spanish settlers in the area. On the original Spanish crest, the wolves refer to the aristocratic Lope family (whose name in Latin means wolf) and the tree symbolizes the oak where the Durango, Spain, town council met.
- Because Durango is well-known for its venomous scorpions (alacranes), many organizations use the arthropod as part of their name, including a soccer team, Alacranes de Durango, and a Norteño music band called Los Alacranes de Durango.
- The state, which encompasses huge evergreen forests as well as a large section of the Chihuahuan Desert, is the country’s third largest producer of silver.
- The Durango Performing Arts area is located on the north side of the capital city. Footprints of famous Hollywood stars who have made films in Mexico—such as Clark Gable, Charlton Heston, Nick Nolte, Ringo Starr and Erik del Castillo—are preserved there.
- The border between Durango, Chihuahua and Coahuila is known as Zona del Silencio (the Silence Zone) due to the area’s natural magnetic fields that prevent radio waves from passing through.
- Guadalupe Victoria, Mexico’s first president, was born in Tamazula, Durango.
SOURCES: HISTORY.COM | BRITANNICA.COM