Top Things to do in New Mexico
10 Ancient Ruins in New Mexico That You Shouldn't Miss
With its rich cultural heritage from Native American and Spanish settlers, New Mexico has been both a Spanish colony and a Mexican colony, and still retains a strong individual identity within the United States. The landscape is breathtaking, the food incredible, and there is a thriving cultural scene, all of which makes New Mexico, and Santa Fe in particular, a great place all year long.
Restaurants in New Mexico
1. Pueblo Bonito
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 123 reviews
Built between 900 and 1115, this ancient ruin is the largest of the Great Houses in Chaco Canyon.
Reviewed By SFantle101 - Bellevue, United States
We had the place almost to ourselves which made the visit special. It's definitely worthwhile to buy the guidebook for $2 at the visitor center, although I wish the Park Service would make these available to borrow and return to be more green. Be sure to make time to hike to the overlook atop the canyon rim for a bird's eye view of the entire complex. A truly special place.
2. Taos Pueblo
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,039 reviews
Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark. The multi-storied adobe buildings have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years. We welcome you to visit our village when you travel to northern New Mexico.Taos Pueblo Hours: Monday - Saturday 8:00am-4:00pm and Sunday 8:30am-4:00pm.Guided Tours available daily starting at 9:00 am.Pueblo Shops open daily.Taos Pueblo is expected to be open for the winter season. Any closures would be due to unexpected events within the community and will be posted on our official website.
Reviewed By MildaLeo - London, United Kingdom
We were lucky to visit Taos Pueblo during their feast day. While we didn't had enough time to see dances, we still managed to see natives in ceremonial clothes, joined a guided tour (free, with donation) lead by an inspiring young local woman, and visited local stores. Wekll worth the visit - as Taos Pueblo is the only living Native American community designated both a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and a National Historic Landmark. You can see the multi-storied adobe buildings which have been continuously inhabited for over 1000 years, have no running water or electricity. You will have to leave your cameras and phones in the car (or just not to take them out from your bag). But what you get is true authenticity and chance to interact with locals. We had a nice chat with a local jeweller while he was making me a silver bracelet there on the spot and measured to my wrist size.
3. Aztec Ruins National Monument
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 606 reviews
Spectacular ruins where visitors can enter the only reconsructed kiva in the Southwest.
Reviewed By WHS-Eagle - Prescott, United States
Aztec Ruins National Monument includes one of the best reconstructions of a kiva. It is a short walk from the visitor center. Continuing on the walk you encounter part of the original 400 rooms. Aztec Ruins National Monument was designated a World Heritage site in 1987 as part of the Chaco Culture World Heritage site because it preserves important Pueblo architectural and engineering achievements. One should visit Mesa Verde and Chaco Canyon together with Aztec Ruins National Monument.
4. Puye Cliff Dwellings
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 367 reviews
The ancestral home of the Santa Clara people may be visited by guided tour to the ruin sites. Puye is closed today from 12:00pm- 4:00pm , Monday 10/15/2018 Due to weather conditions Puye will open again for business on Tuesday 10/16/2018
Reviewed By LoriM0719 - Atlanta, United States
We learned so much from our tour guide Andy on the two hour Adventure Tour. How the people lived, interacted, survived. Well worth the drive and the time spent here. We went to Bandelier National Monument after this. So glad we did Puye first. It gave us a much better context for what we saw at Bandelier. Pro tip: we made a reservation online but that didn’t go anywhere. You buy tickets at the site past the welcome center. You can also buy drinks and souvenirs at the site. And they have bathrooms.
5. Jemez Historic Site
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 142 reviews
A short drive from Albuquerque and Bernalillo, the Jemez National Historic Landmark is one of the most beautiful prehistoric and historic sites in the Southwest. It includes the stone ruins of a 700 year old village and the San José de los Jemez church dating to 1621. The village of Giusewa was built in the narrow San Diego Canyon by the ancestors of the present-day people of Jemez Pueblo. The visitor center contains exhibitions that tell the story of the site through the words of the Jemez people. A 1,400-foot interpretive trail winds through the impressive site ruins.
Reviewed By SisuTravelor - Skanee, United States
A visit at pueblo site and museum is well worth the time and the small entrance fee. The museum does a fine job of educating visitors about the indigenous people who lived in the Jemez canyon at this pueblo ... both prior to and after the arrival of the Spaniards.
6. Una Vida
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 25 reviews
Located in Chaco Canyon, this is the first and easiest ancient ruin to reach.
Reviewed By BlueDevilOKC - Oklahoma City, United States
The hike to Una Vida offers a great introduction to the ruins in the canyon, with the trailhead right by the visitor center. The hike is not technical. Though the final 100’ ascent is much steeper than the majority of the hike, my little kids had not trouble with it. The ascent was also worth it, as there are great petroglyphs to see at the top. Taking the ranger-guided tour also added a lot of color to the experience; the ranger also did a great job of relating to my kids on the hike.
7. Three Rivers Petroglyph Site
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 226 reviews
Thousands of rock drawings left behind by ancient Native Americans can be found scattered throughout the site.
Reviewed By jbwhitehouse - Dallas, United States
The petroglyphs date back to between about 900 and 1400 AD, were created by Jornada Mogollon people who used stone tools to remove the dark patina on the exterior of the rock. The Visitor Center is closed due to Covid19, but there is a very helpful guide near where one pays. It helps locate petroglyphs which are clearly numbered on the trail. Parts of the trail are a bit steep, but not hard to navigate.
8. Salmon Ruins
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 169 reviews
Reviewed By 189randallh
We took the all day tour of Chaco Canyon, which begins at the Salmon Ruins museum. Tori, our guide, is a bona fide archeologist, and Renaissance woman, who made us feel we were living in the community of Chaco Canyon nine hundred years ago. She drove us in a four-wheel-drive vehicle as she told us about what is known of the culture and history of the Chaco civilization that can be seen in the Salmon Ruins, and probably in Mesa Verde to the north. By the end of the one-hour ride to Chaco Canyon, I felt like I had completed a whole semester in an anthropology course for the area. Ask Tori questions! Just listening to Tori is worth the price of the tour. But, the actual tour of the ruins is even better. I can use guidebooks and try to imagine what I'm seeing, but the ruins of Chaco Canyon would be a challenge for me, who have never had a course in archeology. Tori's way of guiding us through the tour is unique: she invited us to imagine how the people who lived in the canyon, as well as visited from afar, might have lived, vibrantly, as we do. She provided understanding of the various theoretical approaches to the civilization, tailoring what she said to our level of knowledge. The next day, we had time to spend at the Salmon Ruins, which were far more meaningful after seeing Chaco. If you haven't visited either, I'd recommend spending an hour or so at the museum before taking the tour of the canyon, to get oriented. I hope to return, to take one of the other tours. The tours help support the work of the archeologists in the area, which is important, as the National Parks funding for archeology has been disappointing for many years now, and the work being done from the Salmon Ruins museum is valuable.
9. Coronado Historic Site
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 243 reviews
Reviewed By LaurettaYoung - Portland, United States
The exhibits are very well done. Especially the actual Kiva pairings which were removed from original excavation. The tour was informative with the ability to enter the restored kiva. Learning about the history of the native peoples gave me such an appreciation of their hard work and ingenuity. So sad to read about the Spanish enslavement and killing of peaceful farmers with the extinction of their customs and spiritual beliefs. this really was worth a couple of hours with the video, exhibits, tour and walk along the Rio Grande. Thank you to our tour guide!
10. Poshuouinge Ruins
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 26 reviews
Reviewed By tieliot
This is a lovely way to get in touch with those who were here first. The trail is easy to follow and the signposts along the way give you a sense of what life was like there in when natives lived, worked and gathered there. From the top of the trail, you look across at Plaza Blanca and the Chama River Valley. Gorgeous.
