Mapimi Biosphere Reserve and the Zone of Silence

A UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (1977) In The Chihuahuan Desert Known As The Zone Of Silence For The Legends Of Radio Silence, Meteorites And Strange Lights, With Desert Tortoises, Pronghorn And The Old Ojuela Mining Bridge Nearby. Remote, Hot And Very Dry, With Few Services, And Visited Mostly By Desert Ecology Researchers And Curious Road Trippers · Ceballos, Durango

The Mapimi Biosphere Reserve is a UNESCO biosphere reserve in the Chihuahuan desert, where the states of Durango, Chihuahua and Coahuila meet, about 300 km from Durango city. It is best known as the Zone of Silence, a legend that radio signals fade here and that meteorites and strange lights fall on the basin. These stories are told as folklore; the real interest is a vast, quiet desert with desert tortoises, pronghorn, jackrabbits and rich cactus country, studied for decades at the Laboratorio del Desierto, a research station. It suits road-trippers, desert-ecology fans and curious travellers who like empty places and are happy with simple services. It is worth the detour if you are already crossing the region and want a real desert day; it is not worth a special trip for spectacle, because the sights are subtle and the distances are long. The Ojuela mining bridge at Mapimi town lies nearby. The reserve is remote, hot and dry, so plan fuel, water and daylight carefully, and check current advice for Durango and Chihuahua before going.

Mapimi Biosphere Reserve, the desert basin at the point where Durango, Chihuahua and Coahuila meet, reached by road to Ceballos or Mapimi; coordinates approximate, Ceballos, Durango, Mexico

There is no staffed gate that sets daily hours; the desert tracks and roadside viewpoints are open at all times, and looking at the landscape from the public road is FREE. The Laboratorio del Desierto and any ranger or visitor building keep irregular office hours, usually on weekdays in the daytime, and may be CLOSED at weekends or without notice, so write or call ahead before a long drive. Services in Ceballos and Mapimi towns close early in the afternoon on some days. Plan to be off dirt tracks before dusk.

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