9-day Tour: Trail of the Ancients
Come explore thousands of years of culture, history, and traditions of the Ancients who dwelt in the region of the Southwest prior to the creation of the United States. Starting with the Archaic Period (North America), which occurred about 6500 to 100 BC, followed by the Ancestral Puebloan people (also known as Anasazi) who lived here until about 1400 AD, and lastly the Pueblo (including both Hopi and Zuni people), as well as the Navajo people, who all still live on these lands today.
When you take our Trail of the Ancients tour, you’ll visit and experience a large collection of ruins and ancient cities once occupied by these historic people. Regardless of size, they all give us examples of how these ancient ones once lived. This seven-day adventure will immerse you into these ancient cultures and give you the opportunity to follow their trails around this magical corner of the Southwest.
ItineraryDay 1: Arrive AlbuquerqueStop At: Albuquerque, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Arrive in Albuquerque, New Mexico anytime today then transfer by hotel shuttle on your own to a pre-night hotel. Evening free on your own.
Duration: 6 hours
No meals included on this day.
Accommodation included: Fairfield Inn & Suites Albuquerque Airport, Albuquerque, NM
Day 2: Acoma Pueblo & El Morro National MonumentStop At: Acoma Pueblo, Acoma Pueblo, New Mexico
Depart your Albuquerque hotel and drive the short distance to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. Here you’ll learn about the culture and traditions of the Pueblo people through their cultural center and museum.
Next, you will travel to the town of Grants where we’ll will stop for lunch before continuing towards the Casamero Pueblo. These seldomly-visited ruins are the remains of an Ancient Puebloan settlement from around 1100 AD. Your next visit will be to El Morro National Monument where you’ll walk on the same trails of the Spanish Explorers who traveled through here in the 1600s, leaving their signatures carved into the rocks.
Afterward, you’ll travel to Gallup, where we’ll lodge for the evening.
Duration: 8 hours
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Hilton Garden Inn, Gallup, NM
Day 3: Canyon De Chelly & Monument ValleyStop At: Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Highway 191, Chinle, AZ 86503
Experience Canyon De Chelly on a guided tour with a local Navajo. Learn about the history and traditions of those who live in the canyon currently and those who lived here anciently, as well as the area around Canyon De Chelly being the center of the Navajo World. After lunch, travel to Monument Valley and enjoy a guided Back Country Tour of this famous, Navajo Tribal Park. Along with enjoying its timeless landscape of views and vistas, you will continue to learn more about the Navajo culture with a visit to a Hogan and a discussion with one of the locals still living inside the valley.
Duration: 8 hours
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Desert Rose, Bluff, UT
Day 4: Goosenecks, Natural Bridges & Hovenweep National MonumentsStop At: Natural Bridges National Monument, Blanding, UT 84511-0001
This morning you will explore Valley of the Gods and the historic Moki Dugway enroute to Natural Bridges National Monument. Here you’ll explore three of the ten largest natural bridges in the world located within one small area. After a picnic lunch, you’ll travel to Hovenweep National Monument to explore and learn about the ruins of the Ancestral Puebloan people and culture that inhabited this region around 1000 years ago. After that, it’s about an hour drive to Cortez, Colorado, where you’ll enjoy views of the Four Corners area including Sleeping Ute Mountain and the imposing San Juan Mountains.
Holiday Inn Express, Cortez, CO | Meals: B, L
Duration: 8 hours
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Holiday Inn Express, Cortez, CO
Day 5: Mesa Verde National Park & Aztec National Monument Stop At: Mesa Verde National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado
Today you’ll visit the grandest of all the ruins, Mesa Verde National Park. You’ll see and explore these fantastic cliff dwellings that are situated throughout the park. It also has one of the largest exhibits of pit houses in the region. You’ll learn more about the Ancestral Puebloan culture here and see how they lived in places like Cliff Palace and Balcony House.
After exploring Mesa Verde, we’ll travel to Aztec, NM, and finish the day exploring Aztec National Monument. This site offers you the opportunity to see fantastically preserved Pueblo dwellings and a large kiva that has been restored. Along with this kiva, you will also explore inside the ruins and see the unique construction techniques for these large pueblos.
Duration: 10 hours
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott, Farmington, NM
Day 6: Chaco Canyon National Monument Stop At: Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Nageezi, NM 87037
Our next experience is another grand site, Chaco Culture National Historic Park. After leaving Farmington, we travel to this very remote park that consists of very large and mysterious structures. You’ll get to see and walk around a few of the “Chacoan” cities with their multiple square and round rooms, including Pueblo Bonito. These massive cities created the cultural center of the Ancestral Puebloan World you’ve been visiting.
In the afternoon, you’ll travel to Santa Fe. Enjoy the rest of the day in this town full of art galleries and great food. This city played an important role in the settlement of the entire Southwest. With its influx of Spanish settlers arriving here in the late 1500s, their influences can still be found here. You will have the opportunity to visit the unique buildings and locations where the Southwest began to bloom from, all an easy walking distance from your hotel.
Duration: 10 hours
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: La Fonda on the Plaza, Santa Fe, NM
Day 7: Santa Fe Stop At: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument, 0 Nm-22, Cochiti Pueblo, NM 87072
This morning we take a trip over to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument to explore more unique Southwest scenery. Named for the way they look, Tent Rocks is the result of volcanic activity that helped shape this region. These unique rock formations are beautifully sculpted and are a delight to explore.
NOTE: As of 2022, Kasha-Katuwa Tent Rocks N.M. is still closed due to various circumstances and a reopening plan is in the works. Until it is open, Southwest Adventure Tours will provide an alternative destination or activity for the first half of this day.
After lunch, you will enjoy a driving and walking tour of the downtown Santa Fe area and learn more about what you began learning about yesterday afternoon. Explore and experience the historic buildings, plazas, chapels, and other special attractions within the downtown area.
Duration: 10 hours
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: La Fonda on the Plaza, Santa Fe, NM
Day 8: Bandelier National Monument & AlbuquerqueStop At: Bandelier National Monument, 15 Entrance Rd, Los Alamos, NM 87544-9508
On our way back to Albuquerque today you’ll get to see one last Ancestral Puebloan site, Bandelier National Monument. People lived in these structures later during the Ancestral Puebloan era around 1150, and they are probably the youngest ruins from this culture. Carved out of the area’s volcanic ash, these dwellings look different than the others you’ve seen over the past week.
Back in Albuquerque, we’ll stop for a late lunch at El Pinto restaurant for some genuine and authentic New Mexican cuisine. We’ll arrive at our hotel near the airport no later than 5:00 PM.
Duration: 10 hours
Meals included:
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Accommodation included: Fairfield Inn & Suites Albuquerque Airport, Albuquerque
Day 9: Journey Home Pass By: Albuquerque, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Transfer to the Albuquerque Airport on your own by hotel shuttle. Thank you for traveling with us and best wishes for a safe trip home!
Meals included:
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No accommodation included on this day.
Informacion Adicional
"Not wheelchair accessible"
"Service animals allowed"
"Near public transportation"
"Most travelers can participate"
"This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund"
"This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers"
"Confirmation will be received at time of booking"
Horário de Início:
04:00 PM
Duração: 9 Days
Ponto de partida: Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Albuquerque Airport, 2300 Centre Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA
Traveler pickup is offered
Arrive in Albuquerque, New Mexico anytime today then transfer by hotel shuttle on your own to a pre-night hotel. Evening free on your own.
Cancelamentos e reembolsos:
All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.
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