Hermosillo

Cerro de la Campana at dawn and Plaza Zaragoza at dusk in Hermosillo

Start Hermosillo on top of the Cerro de la Campana, early, before the sun gets high. A taxi or car takes the winding road up, where parking and a police presence wait at the summit, and the view covers the whole city and its desert mountains; then walk down to the Museo Regional de Sonora in the 1897 state penitentiary.

The castle-like building has thick walls and watchtowers, and its galleries cover Sonora's history in order, Wednesday to Sunday; the underground punishment cells, the most memorable part, open only on special dates such as International Museum Day in May.

Late morning. Head to Plaza Zaragoza, where the cream-coloured Metropolitan Cathedral faces the Palacio de Gobierno and its murals. Escape the heat in the Universidad de Sonora's regional museum, whose collection includes mummies found in the Sonoran sierra, as well as revolutionary-era photographs, coins and weapons.

Afternoon and evening. Rest through the hottest hours. Later, visit the Museo de Arte de Sonora at the Centro Cultural Musas for Mexican art, then eat carne asada at a street stand as the evening cools.

Next morning. If it is winter, go hiking or mountain biking on the desert trails around the city; roadrunners, lizards and sometimes deer are out early. In season, end with a Naranjeros baseball game.

Mesquite-grilled carne asada, caramelos and Villa de Seris coyotas

Hermosillo is the heart of Sonora's beef culture. Carne asada, chuck, rib eye and sirloin grilled over mesquite and chopped for tacos, is sold from stands on almost every street from early evening; ask for caramelos, the same meat in a flour tortilla with melted cheese, or tacos de cabeza. Sonoran flour tortillas are large and paper-thin.

For something sweet, the city's speciality is the coyota, a flat, crisp pastry filled with piloncillo (raw cane sugar) or with jams, nuts and other fillings. It began in Villa de Seris, once a separate village and now a neighbourhood south of the river, where bakeries still turn them out. Look also for empanadas with sweet fillings and melcochas, chewy raw-sugar candy.

Night owls should try the Sonoran hot dog, wrapped in bacon and loaded with beans, onions and sauces, sold from carts late into the night. To drink, beer is the default, with drive-through beer shops a local institution; or try bacanora, the state's own agave spirit, distilled in the Sonoran sierra.

Escaping the heat at Bahía de Kino and San Carlos on the Sea of Cortés

Visit Hermosillo from November to March, when highs are 24-30°C, rain is almost absent and skies are clear, though December and January nights can near freezing. From April the heat builds fast: May averages 38°C, June 42°C, the record tops 49°C, and July to September brings short, fierce monsoon storms.

When the heat is on, locals head to the sea. Bahía de Kino, about an hour and a half west along the road past the airport, is a long, low-key beach town on the Sea of Cortés, facing Isla Tiburón, home territory of the Comcaac (Seri) people, whose ironwood carvings are sold locally. The water is calm and the seafood simple and fresh.

About two hours south on Highway 15, San Carlos and the port of Guaymas offer a more developed coast, with marinas, diving and the twin-peaked Tetakawi hill rising behind the bays. Both work as day trips, but they are better as overnight stays so you can swim in the morning and watch the sunset over the water. In midsummer, the coast is only slightly cooler, so swim early and stay out of the midday sun.