Culiacan Attractions
The capital of the state of Sinaloa is Culiacán (Náhuatl for "place where the god Coltzin is worshipped" or "where two waters meet"; 65 m (213 ft); population 700,000). The settlement of San Miguel de Navito was founded here in 1533 by Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán on the site of a pre-Columbian Nahua village. After later becoming a mining settlement, Culiacán, by the use of irrigation, developed into the centre of an extensive agricultural region (cotton, sugar cane, winter vegetables, etc.). The surrounding area is known for its legal cultivation of the poppy (source of opiates) and its illicit cultivation of the cannabis plant, marihuana.
Culiacán has few noteworthy buildings apart from the 19th c. cathedral, the enormous modern building housing the social centre (Centro-Cívico Constitución) and the museum, with its archaeological pieces and exhibits of the flora and fauna of the region.
Culiacán has few noteworthy buildings apart from the 19th c. cathedral, the enormous modern building housing the social centre (Centro-Cívico Constitución) and the museum, with its archaeological pieces and exhibits of the flora and fauna of the region.
Bandas Sinaloenses
The "bandas sinaloenses", which play military music with Dixieland jazz and Cuban rhythms, are very popular both in Culiacán and in the state as a whole.
Thermal Baths and Beaches
On the edge of Culiacán and in the immediate surroundings of the city can be found the thermal baths of Carrizalejo, Macurimi and Imalá on the Río Tamazula; nearby there are Indian cave paintings. Anglers can take advantage of the artificial lakes of Sanalona and Adolfo López Mateos (perch, catfish, trout, etc.), while on the coast of the Gulf of California there are the beautiful beaches of Altata, Campo Aníbal and El Dorado.
