travel. eat. hike.

Mesa Verde National Park is on my top ten list of parks to see before you die. Matter of fact, I would put it at number six on my list.

As I explored this place, I began to wonder what the people were like, what their chief concerns must have been, and how they created all this. All around us were signs of the amazing skills that would take a lifetime of schooling to achieve today.

The Ancestral Pueblo people made this sacred place “their home for over 700 years, from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300. Today, the park protects over 4,000 known archeological sites, including 600 cliff dwellings.” – National Park Service

This park preserves a bit of their lives, their culture and the struggles they had to overcome to survive this harsh region. It must have been a time of great danger for the Pueblo People.

The hike and guided tour of these dwellings is one every human should attempt, but as you can see in my slideshow, it is not easily accessible. This community adapted to living on the side of a cliff under a stone ledge of epic proportions.  They were master architects and climbers long before the crafts were commercialized, and these people survived for centuries here. This is one cultural time travel experience you shouldn’t miss.

Download the Mesa Verde National Park Map here.

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