Santa Fe: Bandelier National Monument

Flashback Summer: Santa Fe Travel - Bandelier National Monument

I am excited to share this post on the Frijoles Canyon Cliff Dwellings in Bandelier National Monument, as it was one of my favorite spots we visited.  Talk about idyllic southwest scenery and history!  A blending of Native, thousand-year old cliff dwellings and more recent vintage history of quaint lodges and an adventurous female.

Flashback Summer: Santa Fe Travel - Bandelier National Monument

For those of you that may not be as familiar with U.S. history, the southwest portion of the country was originally settled by Native tribes hundreds of years ago.  Spanish conquistadors later made their way up through Mexico and colonized the area, bringing in Catholicism and Spanish culture and language.  Then Mexico became a country, and it later sold this section of land to the U.S.  Natives experienced abuse under all three countries but have maintained many aspects of their heritage and culture nonetheless.


Flashback Summer: Santa Fe Travel - Bandelier National Monument

The southwest is also one of the oldest areas of the United States, in the sense that there are still structures and sites dating back hundreds of years.  I think most Americans think of the east coast as having all the old stuff from the 1600s when European settlers came, but the southwest beats it by a long shot!  Frijoles Canyon in Bandelier National Monument is one of the sites left by Native tribes from thousands of years ago. 


Flashback Summer: Santa Fe Travel - Bandelier National Monument
Cliff dwellings are accessed by ladders

These ancient peoples were cliff dwellers, and they made homes by digging out cave-like rooms in the porous rocks of the cliff facings.  In front of these and supported by logs driven into the rock, they built two- and three-story brick homes.  This park has the ruins of these brick homes and storage buildings, petroglyphs, and cliff rooms you can climb into and explore.


Flashback Summer: Santa Fe Travel - Bandelier National Monument

Flashback Summer: Santa Fe Travel - Bandelier National Monument
View from a cliff dwelling

It's $20 a car to get in, and it's totally worth it!  The landscape is unlike other areas around Santa Fe and has unique diversity. The loop from the gift shop/lodge area to the archaeological sites is only a little over a mile, so it's a doable trail for people of different fitness levels.  (The first section is also wheelchair and stroller accessible.  The second section has narrow pathways up by the cliff face.)  I highly recommend you stop and visit if you're ever in the area!

Have you ever been to Bandelier National Monument and checked out the cliff dwellings?  Is the southwest an area you love to travel to or wish you could?


Flashback Summer: Santa Fe Travel - Bandelier National Monument
My sister, Aria, and I

Outfit details
Spring Sweetheart shirt:  c/o Memo Illustration
Scarf and clam diggers: vintage
belt: local festival purchase
earrings: gifted
shoes: Arris Allen

4 comments

  1. I love your holiday/exploring oufit! You look like a lady adventurer :)
    Also, this looks like a really neat place to visit- I love history stuff. Ruins that are 1,000 years old just boggles my mind!
    The Artyologist

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  2. What stunning photos! I am so envious of your adventures! Santa Fe is for sure on our list, as I ADORE the southwest, but we're planning a trip to Arizona later this year first.

    xoxo
    -Janey

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  3. I am a longtime "lurker" but this topic is so totally me! Glad you loved Bandelier. Went there several years ago (it caught on fire the day after I visited!) Love the southwest (and its vintage styles.)

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    1. I'm glad to hear from you Theresa! The southwest and its vintage IS so lovely, and I was glad to get to experience it!

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