puye cliff dwellings

Wife and I love to explore nature and history. We had seen about all we wanted to see in downtown Santa Fe so Visitor Center recommended we visit here versus going to some Pubelo villages (great advice). Easy drive to the Mesa/dwellings. You first stop at Visitor Center and get permit to travel to site (about another 4 miles across tribal land). You can view the dwellings from the center there for free or pay for 1 hour or 2 hour guided tour. we took the 1 hour ($18 per person) which a guide takes you up to the dwellings and explains all the historical facts. The two hour ($36 per person) you see what the 1 hour shows plus you climb two separate ladders to the top of the mesa where this group lived in the summer months (they dwelled in the caves in the winter). If you fear heights and don't want to do the ladders you can go back down and a van will take you to the mesa top via a separate road. Very worth the drive just for the scenery but the dwellings and historical perspective from the guids is a plus.

we took the cliff side tour with our kids ages 6 and 14. All of us enjoyed learning about the ways of the Puye. The the tour here, then head down the road to Bandalier National Monument for more cliff side dwellings and artifacts. This was definitely worth the $$.

We took the adventure tour of Puye cliffs (included cliff side and mesa top). Although a cold blustery day, our tour guide, Elija Naranjo was great and made it a special day with out of town friends. It took their visit to get us to do this. I highly recommend it.

These cliff dwellings are wonderful. Set back from the highway, and up a mountain they are transporting - your imagination takes you back in time and it is easy to feel yourself carrying water and wood to you cliff-side home - sitting looking out over the valley as you pound corn and meat for dinner. If in Northern New Mexico as must stop site.

Usually I was just too lazy to write a review. However for this place, I really want more people can have a wonderful experience as I had! If you travel near this place, STOP BY this place and I promise you won't regret! I went there yesterday morning. The staffs there are very friendly and the tour guide Elijah is the best tour guide I ever had. Although the ticket price might not be as low as other place, it was worthy!!! Also if you have enough time, highly recommend the 2-hour tour!

Do not miss this! We visited the Puye Cliff Dwellings in March and it was one of the high points - perhaps the high point - of a wonderful 3 week stay in New Mexico. We signed up for the longer tour, even though I am 72 years old and it involved some scrambling. Were led through the site with Sam Baca as our Guide. A wonderful man and so generous with his knowledge which he had accumulated since childhood with his father as his teacher. My partner and I both felt honored that he shared not only his knowledge with us, but also his wisdom. This was such a wonderful Life Experience. Unless you are truly infirm, sign up for the long tour. You won't regret it!

At first we thought the cost of the tour was a bit pricey, but discovered it was worth every cent! They can't have self-guided tours because of vandalism that occurred in the past. Some of the terrain is rough, so it's not for anybody faint of heart. Elijah was our guide and he was outstanding! He's a Native American from the area and gave us the history of his people. He was very knowledgeable about everything from plants to daily life then and now. He pointed out petroglyphs and regaled us with stories. The view is breathtaking and Elijah offered to photograph our group in different scenic spots. If you are too tired when you get to the top, you can ride a van back down to the bottom. My quads were sore the next day, but it felt great! Be sure to check out the museum, there are some interesting videos on how pottery is made. If you're lucky, you can pick up a piece of pottery that Elijah or one of his talented family members made, they've been making pottery for generations. They have special family days where they bring in experts to talk about different topics, so check the calendar on the web site. It was the best "black Friday" ever, hiking with family and learning local history!

Excellent tour guides - I love the fact that they are all Santa Clara Pueblo tribal members. Our guide Elija - is great at his job. Very through when delivering information, he has a very good presence - calm and welcoming.

I can't say enough nice things about our tour guide, Elijah. He was very friendly, knowledgeable, funny, and open to questions. He never made us feel dumb for not knowing the history of New Mexico or of the local Native Americans. We took the mesa tour, and rode the van up to the top. Elijah led us down through the cliff dwellings as a bonus. It was a beautiful way to spend our morning. However, if you plan to go first thing in the morning, as we did, I recommend you have an advance reservation. We arrived around 9:45 am, and although the website says that they open at 9:30, the gates were still locked at 9:45. We drove back to the information desk at the Valero gas station, only to find out that the Puye staff had just left the Valero to open the welcome center. Outside of that little hiccup, it was a great visit.

Wonderful tour guides. Ann Jenkins was patient, informative and very courteous.Make a point of taking both packages. Because of an injury, I could go up but not down. They drove us down the back and we got to see parts of the layout we hadn't realized were there before.

Be sure to stop at the Puye Cliff Dwellings if in the area. Very interesting tours – all involve hiking up to the cliffs. Not for the grossly out of shape!

We were in New Mexico for the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta,and decided to venture off and do the "Adventure Tour" at the Puye Cliff Dwellings during our trip. What a great choice! The experience was well worth it; interesting and exciting!

Saw the sign as we were headed to Bandolier, turned in, and enjoyed an excellent presentation by our guide of the cliff dwellings and abandoned Pueblo on top. We took the tour that drove us to the top of the mesa and returned us to the visitor center. Some elected to walk down. A well spent hour.

We were disappointed to find that you can't do a self-guided walk here. You must choose from a number of 'tours' with a guide (averaging $20 each). Bandelier National Monument is equally as interesting, just a few miles further, and has beautiful walks (self guided!). Entrance there is $12 (national park). This felt like a rip-off.

Outstanding example of pueblo ruins. But be prepared to climb multiple ladders to gain access to the site.