Usually travellers stick to the south of Mexico, where there is lush jungle, ruined temples and tourist attractions galore. Up north (by which I mean anywhere north of about halfway up) there are a few fabulous areas that shouldn’t be missed, including the fantastic Copper Canyon, where you can cycle and hike and generally admire the splendour.
Well, now there’s another reason to go up there: Mexico is newly home to the highest bridge in the world, the Baluarte Bridge (according the BBC, anyway; Wikipedia is a bit more conservative and hedges bets with “one of the highest bridges in the world”).
This extreme height measures up at 403m. If you’re having trouble picturing exactly how high that is, fear not: the BBC are on hand to put it in perspective for you. It’s so tall, they declare, that the Eiffel Tower could fit easily under its central span. It also extends for well over a thousand metres, so you’ve got a good long stretch of awe, or possibly vertigo, as you zoom across it.
So where is this bridge, and will you be able to fit it into your travel plans? Potentially, yes, it would seem. The bridge is located on the Mazatlan-Durango highway, so if you’re heading to the beautiful beachy coastal city of Mazatlan and thinking of heading into the mountainous interior from there, this could work for you. Durango is famous in its own right, not just for the dodgy mountainous railroads and paths, but for the Wild West feel which has encouraged many a filmmaker to use the region as a set. Think Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and you’ll get the idea.
The terrain of the interior of Mexico is spectacularly rocky and jagged, with the road prior to the building of this bridge affectionately known as the Devil’s Backbone. Not a particularly safe road at the best of times, the Mexican government has seen fit to work on a modern highway to put in its place, of which Baluarte Bridge will be part. There are going to be another eight bridges (though not quite as high) and over 60 tunnels, the idea being that the journey time between Mazatlan and Durango will be cut by six hours. And presumably not carry so much risk of falling off a cliff.
So, if you’re heading to Mexico, see if you can fit Baluarte Bridge into your itinerary. The government are very excited about it, hoping it will bring more tourism – but improved roads alone through the Sierra Madre Occidental will open up areas of Mexico that travellers previously wouldn’t have had time to work into their schedules. Eventually – though exactly when is anyone’s guess – the modern highway will extend from east to west, ocean to ocean, making travel in the region a million times easier and safer.
Sophie Carville
