A fascinating half-day road trip from La Paz along Highway 1 south to the abandoned silver mining ghost town of El Triunfo (145km, 2 hours). The massive iron smelting chimneys still stand guard over the crumbling French-era buildings and Victorian mansions. The excellent Café El Triunfo serves artisan coffee and traditional food in a historic building. Continue 15km to San Antonio for the ruins of the gold mine and a charming central plaza. The drive through the desert foothills of the Sierra de la Victoria is scenic.
El Triunfo and San Antonio sit in the Sierra de la Laguna foothills southeast of La Paz, reached on paved Highway 1 in around two hours by car. There is no organised tour circuit for this route, so a rental car is effectively required; second-class buses on the La Paz-Los Cabos run do stop at both villages, but the timetable makes combining them in one day awkward. Fuel for the round trip comes to roughly USD 25-30, and both villages are free to walk.
El Triunfo was, in the 1870s, the largest settlement in Baja California Sur, built on silver and gold worked by British and later German and French mining interests. The town emptied when the ore ran out, leaving a striking skeleton: a brick smelting chimney known as La Ramona, standing roughly 35 metres and often attributed locally to Gustave Eiffel's workshop, alongside stone foundry ruins, a hillside cemetery and the pastel remnants of company housing. The Museo Ruta de Plata, opened in the mid-2010s, sets the mining history and its environmental legacy in context, and a small piano museum reflects the imported European instruments once shipped in for the mining elite. Café El Triunfo, in a restored adobe building on the main street, is the anchor for lunch, serving wood-fired pizza, pastries and coffee.
San Antonio lies 15km further along the highway and is the quieter half of the pair — a working village around a shaded plaza and the parish church, with the remains of gold-mining works on its edges and no tourist infrastructure to speak of. Its brief moment came in 1829, when it served as capital of Baja California after a hurricane devastated La Paz.
An 8AM departure from La Paz allows a couple of hours in El Triunfo in soft morning light, a mid-morning meal, an hour in San Antonio, and a return to La Paz by mid-afternoon. The drive itself is a large part of the appeal, climbing through cardón forest and granite hills with wide views back toward the Sea of Cortez. Note that abandoned mine workings around both villages carry arsenic contamination and should not be entered.
Suggested itinerary
- 8AM: Depart La Paz on Highway 1 south
- 10AM: Arrive El Triunfo; explore ghost town
- 11AM: Coffee and breakfast at Café El Triunfo
- 12PM: Continue to San Antonio village (15km)
- 1PM: San Antonio plaza and church visit
- 2PM: Begin return to La Paz
- 4PM: Arrive La Paz
Location
23.8033, -110.0783 View on map
Highlights
- El Triunfo smelting chimneys
- Café El Triunfo artisan coffee and food
- French-era mining architecture
- San Antonio plaza and mission ruins
- Desert mountain scenery
Tips for visiting
- The café owner is a wonderful storyteller about the mining era
- The chimneys are the best photo subject — early morning light is flattering
- Combine with a detour to Miraflores village for artisan leather goods
When to visit
November through April brings comfortable daytime temperatures for walking the ruins, while May to September can exceed 38C by midday in these inland foothills. Early morning gives the best light on La Ramona chimney and the pastel ruins for photography.
Accessibility
El Triunfo's main street is broadly flat and the museum and café have step-free or ramped entrances, but the foundry ruins, chimney approach and cemetery sit on rough, sloping ground with loose rock that is not passable by wheelchair. San Antonio's plaza is level, though its sidewalks are narrow with high kerbs.
Frequently asked questions
Are guided tours available to El Triunfo and San Antonio?
Organised day tours are rare, and most visitors drive themselves from La Paz in a rental car on paved Highway 1. Second-class buses serve both villages on the La Paz-Los Cabos route, but the schedules make visiting both in one day difficult.
What is there to see in El Triunfo?
The main sights are La Ramona, the tall brick smelting chimney, the stone foundry ruins and hillside cemetery, the Museo Ruta de Plata covering the silver-mining era, and the small piano museum. All are within a short walk of the main street.
Is it safe to explore the old mine workings?
No. Abandoned shafts and tailings around El Triunfo and San Antonio carry arsenic and heavy-metal contamination from 19th-century ore processing, and the structures are unstable. Visitors should stay on marked paths and view the ruins from the designated areas.
Where can visitors eat along the way?
Café El Triunfo on the village's main street is the established option, serving wood-fired pizza, baked goods and coffee in a restored adobe building. San Antonio has only small local shops and no full restaurant, so it is worth eating in El Triunfo.