There are a number of ancient New Mexico Cave Dwellings. Maybe you have been to some of the more well-known among them, like Chaco Canyon, Bandelier National Monument, or the Gila Cliff Dwellings. However, the Puye Cliff Dwellings are an often overlooked gem. Take a look.

Ancient Pueblo people lived at the Puye Cliff Dwellings for almost three centuries.
Jay O./TripAdvisor
Nearly 1,500 people lived at the site, from roughly 1250 to 1577. These ancestors of today's Santa Clarans eventually moved off the cliffs down to the Rio Grande River Valley. The cliff site is about 10 miles away from today's Santa Clara Pueblo.
The ancient site has two main sections, the cliff dwellings and the mesa top. The cliff dwellings have two levels. The first runs along the base of the mesa. Pathways and stairs connect it to the shorter second level and the mesa above.
Don49680/TripAdvisor
The cave-like dwellings were dug into the volcanic tuft. For additional space and storage, stone rooms were built onto the cave rooms. Though no longer standing, a few of the stone rooms have been reconstructed to give visitors an idea of what the site looked like.
The Puye Cliff Dwellings were the largest settlement on the Pajarito Plateau.
Lisa S./TripAdvisor
A large, multi-story complex stood on top of the mesa. While the exact number of rooms is unknown, one part of the complex, alone, had 173 ground-floor rooms, with more stories on top.

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From atop the mesa, visitors can look out across the Rio Grande Valley.
459BobM/TripAdvisor
Aside from the road below and the ski runs on the nearby Pajarito Mountain, the views are almost the same as those seen by the Ancient Pueblo people.
A Harvey House also sits on the site and serves as a gift shop and interpretive center for the cliff dwellings.
Jo F./TripAdvisor
Hospitality mogul Fred Harvey made his name feeding and housing hungry railroad passengers at Harvey Houses. During the 1920s and 1930s, this Harvey House was part of Harvey's "Indian Detours" and hosted passengers traveling on the "Chili Line." In the early days, guests were conveyed to the Pueblo via covered wagon. Later, they arrived in Model Ts.
Three guided tours are available -- a cliff dwelling tour, a mesa tour, or a combination.
Geoff F./TripAdvisor
Tours start on the hour and are led by guides from the Santa Clara Pueblo. As visitors explore the dwellings, a kiva, and even petroglyphs, the guides explain the site's significance and Pueblo culture. The Cliff Dwelling and Mesa Top tours are each $20 per person. The combination "Adventure Tour" is $35. Both tours include admission to the Harvey House, but do not include a tip for the guides.
You can buy your tour tickets at the Welcome Center before driving to the cliff dwellings.
Erma D./Yelp
You can find the Puye Cliff Dwellings at Highway 30 and Santa Clara Canyon Road in Espanola. Summer hours (April- September) run from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm. Winter hours (October-March) are from 8:00 am until 4:00 pm.

Have you been to the Puye Cliff Dwellings or any other New Mexico Cliff Dwellings? What did you think? We’d love to hear your stories in the comments below.

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New Mexico Cave Dwellings

Leah | May 14, 2020

What are the most underrated places in New Mexico?

The most underrated places to visit in New Mexico are:

  • Mesilla
  • Questa
  • Catwalk Trail, Glenwood
  • Sitting Bull Falls, near Queen

There are tons of interesting places to see in New Mexico that more people should know about. If you like architecture like pueblos, you'll love the Poeh Museum in Pojoaque. It will draw you in with its beautiful look outside and in, as it takes you through history. New Mexico is famous for its spectacular hot air balloon festival, and you can explore the world of hot air balloons any time of year at the lesser-known Anderson Abruzzo International Balloon Museum in Albuquerque.

What are the oldest dwellings in New Mexico?

The oldest dwellings in New Mexico can be found in Acoma Pueblo. The pueblo history of New Mexico is very rich, with many of them dating back to hundreds of years ago and still existing today. The oldest, continually-inhabited place in not only New Mexico but the entire country is the Acoma Pueblo. It has been around since the 12th century, believe it or not, and the earthen buildings are wonderous to behold in person. There has been a church there, the San Estévan del Rey Mission, since 1640. That isn't the oldest church in New Mexico, however, as that title belongs to the San Miguel Mission, built around 1610. It is known to be the oldest church in the entire United States!

What are the most well-known pueblos in New Mexico?

The most well-known pueblos in New Mexico are:

  • Gila Cliff Dwellings
  • Taos Pueblo
  • Chaco Culture National Historic Park

When it comes to historic buildings in New Mexico, pueblos are definitely the most popular. From the distinctive style and forms to the immense amount of culture they hold, people love to visit places like the Gila Cliff Dwellings and Taos Pueblo. The latter is iconic in the Land of Enchantment with its cluster of buildings that have been around for over 1,000 years. You can even visit pueblos that are thought to have been made around 750 AD, at the Chaco Culture National Historic Park. The ancestral pueblo dwellings that remain there are only ruins now, but you can still clearly see what used to stand there long before anything else we know today was around.

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