OVERVIEW

Overview

The city of Amarillo, about 330 miles (531km) northwest of Dallas-Fort Worth, is where the old West lives on in the commercial centre of the Texas panhandle.

Amarillo started out in 1887 as a 'buffalo-hide tent camp' for railroad construction workers. Today, the town named for a nearby stream, the Arroya Amarillo, boasts a convention centre, symphony, ballet, theatre, opera and two higher education facilities, Amarillo College and Texas State Technical College.

Amarillo's fortunes have long rested on the horns of cattle ranching, but it has also become a popular stopover for tourists keen to play cowboy or cowgirl, with numerous motels and restaurants having opened up in recent years. The town is located on the major Route 1-40 east-west highway, making it easily accessible for visitors and those who come for the famed frenetic Amarillo Livestock Auctions.

At first glance Amarillo may seem unprepossessing and have little to offer apart from cowboys and cattle, but it is worth digging below the dust of the high plains to discover its attractions.