Hermosillo is the capital of Sonora, a prosperous northern state that feels as much influenced by the American Southwest as by central Mexico. Set in the low desert at about 215 metres above sea level, it is a practical, fast-moving city of around 900,000 people — the industrial and commercial hub of a region known for cattle ranching, wheat farming, car manufacturing, and some of the best beef in Mexico.
The historic centre holds its own. Plaza Zaragoza anchors downtown, flanked by the neoclassical Government Palace and the Cathedral of the Assumption, with its distinctive twin towers visible from much of the city. The Museo de Sonora — housed in the old state penitentiary — gives context to the long Yaqui and Seri indigenous presence in the region. The Cerro de la Campana rises at the city's northern edge, offering panoramic desert views from a volcanic hill that was sacred to the Seri.
Eating here is a genuine pleasure: Sonoran carne asada — beef grilled over mesquite with handmade flour tortillas — is as good as it gets anywhere in Mexico, and the mariscos are superb, fed by daily catches from the Gulf of California.
Day trips from the city are the real reward. Bahía Kino, 54 miles to the west, is a relaxed seaside town on the Sea of Cortez where you can hire a boat to reach Isla Tiburón, Mexico's largest island and a Seri biosphere reserve. Southeast of the city, La Pintada shelters one of the largest concentrations of rock art in Mexico — more than 1,500 petroglyphs and pictographs left by the Seri and Pima people on canyon walls above a dry riverbed.