Real de Catorce

A near-ghost town high in the Sierra Madre Occidental of San Luis Potosí, Real de Catorce sits at roughly 2,750 meters and was once a major silver mining center. Access requires driving through an old mine tunnel over two kilometers long that serves as the only road into the village. Stone buildings, ruined smelters, and an abandoned bullring are scattered across a hillside, and the surrounding desert landscape holds sacred significance for the Wixárika (Huichol) people who undertake annual pilgrimages here.