These ancient Native American pueblos, cliff dwellings, cavetes and more will take your breath away. Add these incredible places to your bucket list immediately.
Cliff Dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Via Srikanth_Jandy on Flickr
Cliff Palace (pictured) is the largest of 600 cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde National Park, located just outside of Cortez, CO. Tours of the 75-room palace are available and well worth a visit.
Casa Grande, AZ
Via Lancesphotos on Flickr
Travel to the small town of Casa Grande to explore Casa Grande National Monument. The Great House is the most popular attraction in the monument, and stands covered by a pavilion to protect it from further erosion.
Tonto National Monument, AZ
Via Al_HikesAZ on Flickr
Surrounded by saguaro cacti in the majestic Sonoran Desert of Arizona, Tonto National Monument is a beautiful place to view cliff dwellings up close. View the lower cliff dwellings or opt for a 3-mile trek to the upper cliff dwellings and back.
Bandelier National Monument, NM
Via BandelierNPS on Flickr
The fascinating dwellings in Bandelier National Monument are called cavetes, which are cave-like rooms dug into the sides of cliffs. A hike on the main loop trail will provide a great view of these dwellings. You could even climb a ladder into a cavete.
Chaco Culture National Historic Park, NM
Via Sarmu on Flickr
The vast ruins of Pueblo Bonito at Chaco Culture National Historic Park are beautiful to see from afar and up-close. Located ¼-mile off Canyon Loop Drive, walking exploring this site is a must.
House on Fire in Mule Canyon, UT
Via summitcheese on Flickr
The aptly named House on Fire is a popular destination for hikers and photographers alike. It may be difficult to find the trailhead, but the mid-morning views of the house are worth it.
Salinas Pueblo Missions, NM
Via jgatts on Flickr
With three distinct areas of missions and pueblos to see, Abo, Quarai and Gran Quivira, Salinas Pueblo Missions in New Mexico provides a variety historic of dwellings, churches and gathering places to visit.
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, CO
Via graeme on Flickr
When visiting the Canyons of the Ancients, we recommend exploring Lowry Pueblo, which is a huge structure with more than 40 rooms and kivas. If you’re traveling with a 4WD vehicle, you’ve got to see Painted Hands Ruins, an ancient tower with pictographs of hands.
Hovenweep National Monument, UT & CO
Located on the Colorado/Utah border, this national monument features six villages of ruins dating back to 1200 AD. If you don’t have time to see them all, we recommend the Cutthroat Castle area (pictured) and the Square Tower area.
Canyon de Chelly National Monument, AZ
Via palojono on Flickr
Take the scenic drive to stop and view Hopi cliff dwellings from afar, or hike to the White House Ruins on the canyon floor. This park is located on Navajo Tribal land and located is midway between Monument Valley and Petrified Forest National Park.
Bonus: Nankoweap Granaries, AZ
OK, so the incredible Nankoweap Granaries are simply a bonus, because they aren’t actually dwelling places. Rather, they were used by the Anasazi to store food and supplies away from threats like animals and water flow. You’ll have to trek into down into the Grand Canyon to see these overlooking the Colorado river.
