Elephant Rock and Jesuit mission
Travel for just 5kms to Lago Arareco, a tranquil lake fringed by pine forests and contorted rock formations, including one called the Elephant Rock. The lake's colour varies from sapphire blue to jade green according to the weather but is always picturesque. Nearby is the 30m high waterfall Cascada Cusarare, a veil of silvery water crashing over a vertical cliff of exposed rock framed by pine forests and considered one of the most beautiful in Mexico. The fall is at its fullest between July and September.
Take advantage of the opportunity to pop in to view the nearby 400 year old Jesuit mission church, still in use for occasional services to this day. The well maintained but rustic church, Mision de Cinco Santos, is in the form of a simple cross, its interior sparely adorned but somewhat embellished with beautiful red-painted designs inspired by traditional Tarahumara indian artistic motifs.