Culiacán

From the Plazuela Obregón up to La Lomita in a single day

Start a day in Culiacán with a big Sinaloan breakfast at La Casa de los Loaiza on Calle Hidalgo, open from 7am and packed with locals eating eggs, machaca and fresh tortillas. Then walk the Plazuela Álvaro Obregón, the main square, and visit the neoclassical Catedral Basílica de Nuestra Señora del Rosario, begun in 1842.

Mid-morning is the time for the Capilla de Jesús Malverde, the small chapel to the bandit hanged in 1909 and now venerated as a folk saint. Its walls are covered with thank-you plaques from migrants, truck drivers and people who would rather not give their names, and the state government palace stands almost next door. Spend a quiet few minutes there and keep the camera low.

After lunch, head to the Mercado Garmendia, where norteño trios play for tips between the stalls. As the heat eases, catch the bus marked "Lomita" from the Plazuela down Bulevar Álvaro Obregón to La Lomita, the Guadalupe sanctuary on the hill south of the centre, for the panorama over the rivers and the sierra.

In the evening, drive past the band premises on Bulevar Madero between Serdán and Carranza, where groups gather by the bend in Carranza, then end with dinner near the riverside malecón in Tres Ríos.

Aguachile, chilorio and culichi-style sushi

Culiacán's signature dish is aguachile: raw shrimp cured in lime juice with chilli, cucumber and red onion, eaten cold and very sharp. Seafood bars serve it with ceviche, scallops (callo de hacha) and shrimp cocktails at lunchtime, since locals treat seafood as a daytime meal in a state that feeds much of Mexico.

Chilorio, pork shredded and simmered in a dried-chilli sauce, is the state's best-known meat dish and turns up in burritos, at breakfast and in jars to take home. Charcoal-grilled chicken, split and marinated, is another Sinaloan habit, sold from roadside grills with tortillas and salsa.

Breakfast is a highlight. La Casa de los Loaiza and Las Marías on Bulevar Sinaloa serve long regional menus from early morning, with Las Marías busy on Sundays with families. For lunch or dinner, El Guayabo in Las Quintas is a casual local favourite.

Then there is the city's own take on sushi. Culiacán has embraced Japanese rolls with a Sinaloan twist, often stuffed with cream cheese, battered and fried, and served with chilli sauces. China-loa in the Centro mixes Chinese dishes and sushi under one roof. Purists may wince, but it is a local institution worth trying once.

Sanalona dam, Altata beach and the road to Mazatlán

Culiacán works best as a base for short trips into the valley and coast, all easiest by car or with a driver. The three classic outings are the Sanalona reservoir in the Sierra Madre foothills, the beach at Altata on the Gulf of California, and the coastal highway south to Mazatlán.

Presa Sanalona, about 29 km east, is a reservoir in the foothills of the Sierra Madre, popular with local families at weekends for picnics, fishing and boat rides. The drive is short and the scenery a welcome change from the city grid. Go in the cooler months and in daylight.

Altata, west of the city on the Gulf of California, is where culichis go for the beach. Expect a long sandy shore, palapa restaurants serving fried fish and aguachile, and big crowds on Sundays and holiday weekends. Visit on a weekday if you want space.

Mazatlán, about two and a half hours south on toll Highway 15D, is the region's real resort city, with a restored old town, a long malecón and a much larger tourist infrastructure. Many travellers fly into Culiacán for business and finish with a few days there.

Avoid the new Highway 24 east across the Sierra Madre to Parral. It runs through remote, cartel-controlled mountain country, and the scenery is not worth the risk.