An hour’s drive northwest from Santa Fe is a place where humans lived centuries before the state of New Mexico and its cities existed. I hiked through the wild landscape and ruins of Bandelier National Monument with my cousin and his partner in 2014. Although I didn’t detour there again on this recent road trip to Santa Fe, it seemed appropriate to include it here.
Ancestral Pueblo people began building settlements in Frijoles Canyon as early as 1150 CE. By 1550, they had left the area to establish various pueblos around what is now New Mexico. Structures on the canyon floor and cave dwellings built into the rock walls can still be seen.
Who was Bandelier? Adolph Bandelier was an archeologist and ethnographer who studied Native American pueblos and ruins in the 1880s. There was little interest nationally at the time to pursue research into native history and culture. John Wesley Powell, a well-known explorer, naturalist, and then director of the U.S. Geological Survey, helped convince the Archeological Institute of America to support Bandelier’s work. He continued his research into Central and South America.
The monument lands stretch far into backcountry wilderness with petroglyphs, waterfalls, and wildlife, but we just followed the Pueblo Loop trail around notable sites and along the cliffs that afternoon.
One can imagine the structures that completed these ruins on the canyon floor. Rooms where people lived, cooked and ate, raised their families, and honored their spirits.
Strange shapes in the cliffs caused by weather and wind.
Cliff dwellings: Were they used as housing or just for ceremonies?
Along the return trail
More New Mexico wanderings to come.
Santa Fe road trip: Leadville, Santa Fe landmarks, Walking Santa Fe, Bandelier National Monument, New Mexico towns, Ghost Ranch, Antonito
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Ruth Rosenfeld 
Wow, what a rugged and unique place; it must be an amazing experience to be able to walk (or climb) through the pre-colonial homes of the original Americans. And it’s quite amazing how Ancestral Puebloans carved homes and living spaces in the soft rock that protected them in the winter and kept them cool in the summer. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx
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It is a fascinating place to walk. There are many sites with historic Pueblo ruins throughout the U.S. southwest, but many are much harder to get to. Thank you, AIva!
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Thanks for this! I am hoping to be able to visit this winter if the weather allows.
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You are welcome! It would be interesting to explore some of the park’s back country. I would have liked to find some petroglyphs. Hope you make it there.
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Spectacular landscape. I was there a few years ago. I climbed up the series of ladders that led to an open area in the cliffs. I guess that people lived up there centuries ago, or maybe it was a worship site. I forget. Take care, Ruth. See ya.
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Glad to know you were there, Neil. Amazing to step back into the past. Thanks for your comment.
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These are beautiful pictures of an incredible culture. Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks, Carol. It was a fascinating place to experience.
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Thanks for sharing this special place. It must be very interesting to visit these settlements form ancien times. I supose it was to dark for images of the interiors.
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Yes, it was dark and somehow it wouldn’t seem right to me to photograph in those spaces. Glad you found this post interesting.
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I’ve never heard of this monument. I’d love to see cave dwellings and the rock features are awesome! Thanks for introducing it to me. Maggie
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You are welcome. There are many lesser known sites like this throughout the southwest. I was glad to find this one.
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Never been to Bandelier National Monument, but its cliff dwellings remind me somewhat of those in Mesa Verde National Park (another place I haven’t been to, either). Very fascinating to imagine how those cliff-dwellers lived and made homes on the side of the rock, and that gives me all the more reason to return to the US Southwest to see them for myself! Thanks for sharing your adventure!
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Mesa Verde is much more impressive, with whole communities and their structures on ledges. But it was interesting to see this one. Thanks for coming along!
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Thanks for letting me visit Bandelier again. I went with
my aunt who was probably in her 80s so we did not hike much. I need to go back.
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Thanks, Virginia. It would be interesting to get into the back country there and look for the petroglyphs.
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New Mexico is an archaeologist’s dreamland. I love to investigate the old ruins and kivas of past native civilizations.
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I find it fascinating to imagine the communities that lived there and what their lives were like.
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The civilizations were quite advanced.
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What a neat place to explore. I love the interesting formations of the cliffs and how they’ve been shaped by the elements. How cool to enter some of the cave dwellings.
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The shapes of the cliffs were so unusual, gets the imagination going. I’m not sure if the caves and the structures on the valley were concurrent, but it’s interesting to imagine how they lived.
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This looks marvellous! This main part of Bandelier was closed when we were in Santa Fe, due to a major wildfire a few days previously. But we were able to visit Tsankawi which was amazing. Still, I’d have loved to have got here as well, especially after seeing all your wonderful photos!
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I’m not so good with heights so it’s probably just as well we didn’t get to Tsankawi. Part of it is closed right now as they do some stabilization work. Thanks, Sarah!
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The husband and I were there many years ago. I don’t remember it terribly well so I enjoyed seeing your pictures. What struck me was how bright it was outside but how dark it must have been inside the dwellings after climbing the ladders. Must’ve taken ages for their eyes to adjust! 🙂
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Interesting observation. It would have been the norm back in those days, so not unusual. Glad to spark some memories.
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Wow, talk about the weight of history. Such a dramatic landscape and formations. I like the idea of watching gods and can imagine the place has a real energy to it. Love the colours, ladders, the cacti and that blue sky. Wish I could steal just a pinch and inject it into today’s greyness.
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I’m glad this post spoke to you, Leighton. The U.S. southwest, and Colorado actually, is pretty dry and the vivid blue sky is common. Places I’ve lived or visited that are more humid seem to be gray more often than not. Today the Colorado sky is white; snow is on the way.
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Wow these rock formations are amazing! What a great place to visit 🙂
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Thanks for your comment, Hannah. It was indeed an interesting and thought provoking place to visit.
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Any idea what that curving foundation was from, where the walking path appears to end in a cul-de-sac? I find it interesting how it’s broken up into dozens of small spaces.
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That was the main structure in the canyon, those spaces were rooms, where they lived. It may look small, but that’s because it was taken from above and some distance. The earlier photos among the walls were taken as I walked inside the remains of the structure.
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What an interesting place … where nature seems to have taken over again. Great rock formations – love the picture of the high cliffs along the trail.
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Thank you. It feels almost like an intrusion to walk where the ancients lived, but fascinating to be there.
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