Experience the best of Big Bend National Park

More than 3,000 square kilometres of Chihuahuan Desert lie inside the curve of the Rio Grande, which forms the park's southern boundary and the border with Mexico. The Chisos Mountains rise from the desert floor in the middle, with Emory Peak, at 2,385 metres, the highest point, and the Chisos Basin sits in a bowl among the cliffs.

Three canyons, Santa Elena, Mariscal and Boquillas, cut through limestone along the river, with cliffs hundreds of metres high at Santa Elena. Black bears, mountain lions, javelinas and more than four hundred species of birds live here, and the park is a recognised dark-sky site where the Milky Way is easy to see.

Terlingua, a former mercury-mining town just outside the park, holds a chili cook-off each November, and Tex-Mex is the staple of its cafés. The lowlands are scorching in summer, while winters are mild and the high Chisos stay cool; spring, when cactus and bluebonnets flower, is the busiest season.