Taos Pueblo
Elevation: 7,199 ft
Miles From Taos: 2.9 mi
THE RED WILLOW PEOPLE
of Taos Pueblo have called the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains home for more than 1,000 years. It’s the oldest contin-ually inhabited community in the United States, a National Historic Landmark and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A guided tour of Taos Pueblo is highly rec-ommended. Tours touch on the highlights of the culture, history and people of the region, and last 20-30 minutes. The main part of the pueblo was built between 1,000 and 1,450 A.D. Its resi-dents speak Tiwa, the language of their forefathers.
Of the 1,900 people living on the 99,000 acres of Taos Pueblo lands, only 150 live inside the sacred walls of the ancient pueblo. They live much as their ancestors lived, though they have doors and windows while early residents entered by ladder and through the ceiling a protection against invasion. That concession, and the addition of wood-burn-ing stoves, are all that distinguish the pueblo of today from the pueblo of 100 or 1,000 years ago.
Visitors to this historic place will find colorful shops offering Native-made, hand-crafted works from jewelry to pottery to paintings, plus delicious foods at Dawn Butterfly Cafe and Tiwa Kitchen. All sales are tax-free. Adult admission is $16, senior/student/group admission is $14, and children under 10 enter for free.
The Taos Pueblo website lists several rules for visitation. For instance, any photographs taken must be for personal use only, and the pueblo prohibits photographing tribal members without their permission.
taospueblo.com 575-758-1028