A destination that surprised me! Recommendations for El Paso Texas

Hey traveling band, in March I went to El Paso Texas without many expectations and I came back loving the destination. That’s why in this new collaboration I want to tell you everything you can do in this border destination.

How to get?

I flew from Mexico City to Ciudad Juárez. When you arrive at the airport you have several options to make the immigration crossing, the best according to me is to hire a tour operator that crosses you and takes you to your final destination on American lands. We went to one of the crossings – here I still recommend Puente Libre. If your trip by land will take you beyond El Paso, Texas, you need to process the I-94 permit (in addition to your visa), it can be done online with an app ($6) and here you will have to get authorized before pursue.

Once in El Paso I recommend renting a car, because it is the best way to get around Texas.

Hotels

The Paso del Norte Hotel is a historic hotel in the city that dates back to the times of the Mexican Revolution but has been restored in recent years to become one of the best hotels in the city.

The Plaza Hotel El Paso is a showcase of incredible Art Deco architecture, with beautiful interiors and elegant rooms. It is located right in the heart of El Paso and is also a symbol of the city, right across from Pioneer Park.

State and National Parks

Hueco Tanks State Park is about an hour’s drive from El Paso. It owes its name to the “holes” or “holes” in the rock, some so large that they naturally accumulated water, an essential resource in the desert. The Park is also famous for its trails, its archaeological remains and its pictograms on the rocks, which date from 6,000 to 3,000 BC with mainly animal shapes. It is also famous for bouldering, or rock block climbing. Buy your ticket to the park in advance because your entry is limited to the day. After checking in, we explored several interesting areas of the Park.

Franklin Mountains State Park is just minutes from downtown El Paso. You can take a guided tour along one of the many trails while the local flora is explained in detail, mainly composed of cacti and agaves from the Chihuahuan desert. Continue uphill for almost an hour until you reach “Aztec Caves” which offer a majestic natural “window” with a spectacular view of the desert. In these caves, vestiges were found that were mistakenly believed to be Aztec and rather belonged to the Mogollón natives.

White Sands National Park. It is located in New Mexico almost on the border with Texas. It is one of the most famous and beautiful national parks in New Mexico. What looks like a desert of sand is actually gypsum of selenite crystals. People come here to relax in the eternity of its “sands” or to play and jump off its dunes in buckets or just flying. The landscapes are unique and magical.

Activities

Take a mural tour of the center. The “Chalk the Block” project with temporary murals that are renewed every year with new themes. There are also works by the “Creative Kids” association where they use art as a form of social cohesion and therapy for the little ones, and others to raise awareness of animals in danger of extinction. Later you can walk on the work “Home” by Lxs Dos and Jellyfish Colectivo, a work on the street that extends for several meters of a bridge.

If you like sports, enjoy an El Paso Locomotive FC “los locos” soccer game. The show is very fun. Or if you can, also attend a baseball game right there, it’s Los Chihuahuas de El Paso. Oh, and on the other side of town, the local youth hockey league team, The Rhinos, plays.

Visit the El Paso Museum of Art. It has temporary collections such as one dedicated to Selena in drag queen dresses, and also a biennial of 50 artists about the border. It also has permanent collections of colonial Latin American art up to the 19th century, another donated by businessman Samuel H. Kress that covers 500 years of European art from Byzantine to Rococo, American art from 1800 to the beginning of the 20th century with American Impressionism. , and a contemporary art room with more conceptual works. Also Betina Landgrebe’s installation Beaten With a Hammer on gender violence and femicides is deep and powerful.

Fly on iFly Us, an indoor skydiving or indoor skydiving center. An instructor explains everything to them before entering the flight tube. Once inside, he teaches them the basic technique to stay stable in the air, and then helps them go up and down as if they had super powers.

Attend a concert or late-night show at El Paso Live. I got to see the legendary Kansas celebrating 50 years of career. Wow! Honestly, I didn’t know many songs but their musical and vocal quality is impeccable, and obviously the only one I recognized was “Dust in the Wind” which is a super classic. In this theater there are also stand-up shows, plays and more.

@manumanuti Hey musical band… We went to the #TeatroPlaza in #ElPaso #Texas for a concert by the legendary #Kansas, who are celebrating 50 years of career and Wow! Honestly, I didn’t know many songs but their musical and vocal quality is impeccable, and obviously the only one I recognized was “Dust in the Wind” which is a super classic ❤️ #music #concert #degiracontiktok #viajestiktok ♬ original sound – Manumanuti

Go shopping at the El Paso Outlets Shoppes or at one of its shopping centers such as Cielo Vista Mall and Fountains At Farah.

Visit Lincoln Park, which is very reminiscent of San Diego’s Chicano Park with its bridges and murals painted by the Mexican migrant community. The murals are very impressive and full of symbolism.

Take the famous El Paso tram that runs through much of “Downtown”, it is free and if you download the official app it is very educational.

Enter Rocketbuster Boots, the paradise of Texas boots. The showroom is spectacular full of colors, designs, the craziest and most ingenious things and of course many boots.

Take a tour of the El Paso Zoo whose mission is the protection and conservation of local species and those affected by the palm oil industry. There are bicolor Malayan tapirs, mischievous spider monkeys, playful orangutans, beautiful Magellanic penguins and even a majestic African lion. In the Chihuahuan Desert area there are elegant peninsular antelopes, a beautiful mountain lion, a solitary Mexican wolf and a cute burrowing owl. Oh and there is even a center to adopt kittens.

Don’t miss El Paso Museum of History. On the first floor it tells the history of the mountainous territory divided by the Big River, from the first groups that inhabited these lands, to its modern border history. Upstairs there was a temporary Expo of the history of fashion in El Paso and the rise of its department stores during the 20th century. The other temporary Expo was about the South Central neighborhood, its agrarian origins and how it was transformed into a residential area where there are currently important city buildings such as the Zoo, the County Coliseum, Los Chicos Tacos and Jefferson High School.

Episodes of @Fudisxelmundo

At the Paso del Norte Hotel, dine at the extraordinary 1700 Steakhouse restaurant, with tremendous tartare and fantastic wines; At the end, have a cocktail at the hotel bar.

Taste the delicious Zinvalle wines and do a tasting to try their varieties and styles. Don’t forget to say hello to vineyard cat Truffles.

Have lunch in the town of Mesilla with a menu inspired by “from the garden to your table” in Farmesilla. The Mexican Lager style beer Wow!

Take a cooking class at Texas Culinary to try and learn traditional border dishes.

Have breakfast at Salt and Honey with an incredible coffee bar and delicious Lebanese-influenced dishes.

Enjoy Nachos and beers at The Tap, one of the most popular bars among locals.

Get stuck into Track On where they have the best chicken wings in the city. The combination of lemon pepper with the hot sauce is brutal!

Have a drink at La Perla, the terrace bar of the Plaza Hotel El Paso at sunset.

Have breakfast at Block Table and Tap with their “manmosa” – a mimosa with beer – and several very original dishes. I loved the pancakes!

Go for some drinks at Malolam Cantina in Montesillo – the atmosphere is very colorful and fun or some beers at Dead Beach Brewery with very special flavors like a chocolate one and a spicy michelada one.

Be sure to try Café Mayapan, a project of pure women who offer homely Mexican food and a safe space for expression.

Finally, they had a hamburger at Whataburger early in the morning after a night of partying. What did you think of Banda?