Paseo Túnel Minería Durango (Durango Mining Tunnel Walk)

This tunnel snakes below downtown Durango. The dark corridors are filled with not only artifacts from the mining industry, but also hints of the legendary terrors that once haunted the city.

Take a tour of the museum, and you’ll first learn about the old mining traditions and customs. At the entrance, you’ll spot a sign denying women access to the mine because it was believed they would cause its walls to collapse. You’ll then see ordinary objects related to the mines, including explosives, precious stones, picks, and old mine carts.

But the most curious objects are in the second part of the route. Although some of the exhibited pieces seem to be handmade kitsch, the museum assures that they were found in different parts of the area. One is the supposed mummy of the vampire child that legend says appeared in the municipality of Nombre de Dios. Another is a mummified chaneque, a kind of goblin that legend says appears in Mexican mines (although this has a great resemblance to wooden sticks bound with masking tape).

Another peculiar object displayed in the tunnel is a nearly foot-long scorpion. According to legend, this scorpion once hid in a cell in the state prison. As prisoners began mysteriously dying, people began to believe there was a curse in the cell. A prisoner managed to capture the deadly scorpion, ending the legend of the curse but giving rise to a new one: the giant scorpions of Durango.