CAVE DWELLINGS OF THE HUAPOCA CANYON, MEXICO
In early spring, pockets of snow shelter in the shadowed crevices of the high sierra.
Brisk breezes, still carrying a tinge of winters chill, bend the boughs of mighty
pine trees and spread their fragrance throughout the forests of Madera.
To the north of
town, at the narrow chasm of Arroyo de Garabato, the sun casts its first light on
streaked, salmon-colored cliffs that plunge to the river below. Here, the cave dwellings
of Cuarenta Casas are tucked into the rocky overhangs of these massive walls. The Cuarenta
Casas archaeolgical site is the most well known and accessible of the cave and cliff
dwellings in northern Mexico. No one is sure why they were built but their location high
above the river with an encompassing view of both the sierra and the canyon suggests that
they may have been guard posts along an old trade route that linked Paquime with the
||Arroyo de Garabato
The great Paquime culture flourished as the main trade and ceremonial center of
northern Mexico around 1300 AD. Its trade routes extended to the Pacific, the Gulf of
Mexico and to other cultural centers to the north such as Mesa Verde in Colorado and Chaco
Canyon in New Mexico. The routes to the Pacific followed the Piedras Verdes River to the
south and connected with the rivers that flow to the Pacific by way of smaller arroyos and
canyons. Among these is the Huapoca Canyon to the west of the town of Madera. The Huapoca
Canyon is not among the deepest of the Sierra Tarahumara but it possesses the most
There are five main cave communities near Madera. To the north are Cuarenta Casas
and Cueva del Puente. At the beginning of the 16th century,
explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza wrote, "
and here by the side of the mountain, we
forged our way inland more than 50 leagues and there found forty houses (cuarenta
" It is not certain if there were actually forty houses as fewer remain
today. They can be viewed across the chasm from the visitors hut and are not
accessible to the public except for Cueva de las Ventanas which has some 1000 year
old Paquime-style adobe dwellings with characteristic T-shaped doorways and stucco floors.
Cueva de las Ventanas is larger than Cueva del Puente and they both require about an
hours hike one way along steep but well maintained paths.
||Cave Dwellings at Cuarenta Casas
Directly to the west of Madera are the Anasazi caves and Cueva Grande.
Although they are fairly close on a map, poor roads and unkept trails make it difficult to
visit both sites on a one day trip. There are supposed to be guides available but this is
not always the case so it is best for visitors to be accompanied by someone who knows the
way. The Anasazi caves consist of the Cueva de la Serpiente and Nido del Aguila. Cueva de
la Serpiente is the larger of the two with 14 adobe dwellings that are over a thousand
years old. Nido del Aguila has only one dwelling that clings precariously to the edge of a
sheer cliff under a rocky overhang that gives meaning to its name, the Eagles Nest.
The Anasazi caves are considered by some to be the most impressive of the cliff dwellings.
This is due to the well preserved structures, the integrity of the site itself which has
not been as vandalized as other sites and the magnificent views high above the broad
expanse of the Huapoca Canyon.
Across from the Anasazi caves, the descent from the sierra to the barranca is more
gradual. Cueva Grande lies hidden within the convoluted folds
of the land and is embraced by the branches of tall trees. The mouth of the cave is
further obscured by a waterfall that cascades off the top of the cave to a pool and stream
below. Even in drier months when the little waterfall is reduced to a trickle, the fine
mist of water captures the sunlight to paint a delicate, shimmery rainbow. Its beauty,
seclusion and constant water supply must have been idyllic to the people who lived in this
parched, rugged terrain. A path rises from the pool to the caves entrance just
behind the waterfall. There are two 800 year old, two-story dwellings that provide good
example