Ciudad Juárez travel guide

Ciudad Juárez, commonly referred to as just Juárez (Lipan: Tsé Táhú'ayá), is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It was known until 1888 as El Paso del Norte ("The North Pass").

Juarez is a large Mexican city in the middle of the Chihuahuan Desert. It is named for 19th-century president and popular hero Benito Juarez, the first Mexican president of indigenous descent. Juarez is nowhere near the tropical Mexico with beautiful beaches and Aztec and Mayan culture many people expect. You will be more likely to encounter people resembling cowboys than any other vision of a Mexican one might have. This can be more charming and realistic than the culture of other locales that are not off the beaten path in Mexico.

Juarez has its fair share of local and international hotels. However, many travellers will find it easier, and much safer, to spend the night across the Rio in El Paso, as it is a large American city with all the usual American services.

Getting in

Juárez is part of Mexico's zona frontera, and no visa or passport is required for U.S. citizens to enter from the United States. (A passport is required to return to United States from Juárez.) Pedestrians are rarely stopped or asked for identification, so if you are not a U.S. citizen, make sure you proactively seek out Mexican immigration to get stamped in when you cross the border, or you risk getting arrested for illegal entry. Vehicles may be stopped at random: usually indicated by a red light at the border crossing.

Getting around

There is a public bus system in Juarez; however, it is not very easy to use and is often overlooked by tourists. In general, buses have their final destination on a board in the front window. They make frequent stops, and often run in close succession to one another; if you miss a bus, another of the same route is likely to appear in a matter of minutes. Many routes continue to run overnight: exercise extreme caution on buses at night and buses that go into poorly policed barrios of the city (especially to the west and south).

Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.