Bandelier National Monument is one of our favorite places to take friends when they visit us in the southwest. It is a beautiful little know place hidden away in mountains just west of Santa Fe near the mountain town of Los Alamos. Los Alamos was originally the mountain fortress where the Atomic bomb was developed during WWII. Don't worry there is no residual left.
Bandelier will surprise you with its gorgeous mesas, sheer-walled canyons, and ancestral Pueblo dwellings. As you drive along high mesa ridges, you suddenly drop into Frijoles Canyon with a beautiful tree lined stream in the middle of massive multicolored rock walls. The area was inhabited by the Anasazi Indians (more information in next section) from the 1100s into the mid-1500s.
See a view of Frijoles Canyon
Trails to the nearby archeological sites begin near the visitor center. Along the paved Main Loop Trail you can explore kivas, the Tyuonyi pueblo ruins, cave rooms, the Long House ruin, petroglyphs, pictographs, and a ceremonial cave. Ladders are provided so you can actually climb into the original rooms of cliff dwellings along the trail. The path also leads by the Tyuonyi pueblo ruins, which are ruins of multilevel structures that once existed in the canyon.
The highlight is the ceremonial cave where visitors can find a restored kiva on a ledge 140 feet above canyon floor. This site is accessed by following an extension of the Main Loop Trail along the stream to the base of the ladders. The site is 140 feet up and visitors climb 4 wooden ladders of varying lengths to get to the cave. The signs caution that those who are not in good physical shape or have a fear of heights should not attempt the climb, but it is really not terribly strenuous for those in moderately good condition.
View the valley from the trail that leads into the cliff dwellings
You'll immerse yourself in the ancient culture as you climb up into caves that were once living rooms and bedrooms and peer out through the small openings and envision what it must have been like. It's also a great place to take children because they can run and climb in the rocks until they wear themselves out.
SW Home Decor
SantaFeDecor.com
WesternCowboyHorseDecor.com
Bandelier will surprise you with its gorgeous mesas, sheer-walled canyons, and ancestral Pueblo dwellings. As you drive along high mesa ridges, you suddenly drop into Frijoles Canyon with a beautiful tree lined stream in the middle of massive multicolored rock walls. The area was inhabited by the Anasazi Indians (more information in next section) from the 1100s into the mid-1500s.
See a view of Frijoles Canyon
Trails to the nearby archeological sites begin near the visitor center. Along the paved Main Loop Trail you can explore kivas, the Tyuonyi pueblo ruins, cave rooms, the Long House ruin, petroglyphs, pictographs, and a ceremonial cave. Ladders are provided so you can actually climb into the original rooms of cliff dwellings along the trail. The path also leads by the Tyuonyi pueblo ruins, which are ruins of multilevel structures that once existed in the canyon.
The highlight is the ceremonial cave where visitors can find a restored kiva on a ledge 140 feet above canyon floor. This site is accessed by following an extension of the Main Loop Trail along the stream to the base of the ladders. The site is 140 feet up and visitors climb 4 wooden ladders of varying lengths to get to the cave. The signs caution that those who are not in good physical shape or have a fear of heights should not attempt the climb, but it is really not terribly strenuous for those in moderately good condition.
View the valley from the trail that leads into the cliff dwellings
You'll immerse yourself in the ancient culture as you climb up into caves that were once living rooms and bedrooms and peer out through the small openings and envision what it must have been like. It's also a great place to take children because they can run and climb in the rocks until they wear themselves out.
SW Home Decor
SantaFeDecor.com
WesternCowboyHorseDecor.com
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