There are lots of ways (everything from walking to flying),
but most people either use some combination of public
transportation, or they drive.
If you use public transportation and are coming from the west
(like from El Fuerte or Los Mochis) you will need to take the
train to Bahuichivo and then continue on the route bus to
Urique. On days when there is a second class train the bus
waits for it before leaving for Urique, so if you take the first
class train, not only will you pay twice as much for a ticket, you
will spend at least an hour in Bahuichivo waiting (with the bus)
for the second class train. If you are coming from the east (like
from Chihuahua or Cuauhtemoc or Creel) you can also take
either the first or second class (if there is a second class train
that day) train to Bahuichivo and continue to Urique with the
route bus the people coming from the west take, as described
above. Or you could take buses all the way.
If you are coming from the east, you can take a Noroeste
intercity bus to San Rafael, then a smaller local bus to
Bahuichivo, where you then take the same bus everyone else
takes to Urique.
If you are driving from the west, there are at least two
options. One of these passes through Chinipas and Temoris
to Bahuichivo. From there you go through Cerocahui to Mesa
de Arturo, where you turn left just before entering Mesa de
Arturo. The other driving option from the west goes from El
Fuerte through Choix and Tubares and Mesa de Arturo, where
you take a right turn to Urique after passing through Mesa de
Arturo.
If you are driving from the east, the most usual route is through
Creel and San Rafael to Bahuichivo. Shortly after San Rafael
you have the choice of taking either the low road or the high
road (which is currently being redone and paved). The low
road goes through Cuiteco. It is shorter than the high road and
generally considered a more picturesque drive.
There is another option from the east. You can drive to
Batopilas and then onwards to Urique. At this writing (June,
2011), the road between Batopilas and Urique has not yet
survived a rainy season, and it involves fording the Urique river.
Please note: these roads will put both vehicle and driver
through their paces. Conditions vary depending on weather
and time of year and by how recently the road has been
maintained. It is a good idea to ask about road conditions
before setting off, and if your vehicle doesn’t have good
clearance and a standard transmission, you will probably be
doing yourself and your vehicle a favor by leaving it parked in
the city while you proceed otherwise. That said, all sorts of
vehicles have made it, everything from VW bugs to a Mercury
Marquise. I suspect that Marquise was never quite the same
thereafter.
