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Bandelier National Monument

, New Mexico

Acreage: 33,676.67
Category: National Monument
Date Established: 02/11/1916

On the slopes of the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico, the majestic Bandelier Monument reminds us of the rich cultural history of the American Southwest. Humans have inhabited the canyons and mesas of the Bandelier area for over 10,000 years. Its residents have included nomadic hunters and gatherers, the ancestral puebloans, and Spanish settlers.

The ancestral pueblo people inhabited the region for over 400 years, and their homes, carved from the rock walls of the Frijoles Canyon, are the primary attraction of the monument. The Bandelier Museum exhibits ancestral pueblo artifacts and tells the story of the evolution of the ancestral pueblo culture into modern pueblo culture.

—Caroline Griffith

NPCA Recommends

Take the opportunity to participate in the popular Nightwalk, a silent exploration of Frijoles Canyon and its rock dwellings in the dark of night—a magic experience!

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I've visited Bandelier many times. On my last visit in May, I got up the nerve to climb to the Ceremonial Cave. I'm terrified of heights and clung to every rung of each ladder as tightly as I could. I'm proud to say that I made it up and back. The walk back through the peaceful and lush canyon was all the sweeter. Bandelier is a lovely, peaceful, inviting place that should be treasured.
Submitted by Cheryl at: August 23, 2009
Bandelier is a true treasure of the Southwest. Aside from its front country sites, it has beautiful ruins in the back country, incredible wilderness pockets and spectacular canyons a half day hike from the visitor center. Also it shares a boundary with the Valles Caldera National Preserve. Legislation is pending to transfer that 89,000 acre section of land to the National Park Service as a Preserve where hunting and fishing would continue. This is a worthwhile project that would safeguard this land and give the NPS responsiblity as the best of the federal land agencies for land protection, public service and fire ecology.
Submitted by TexfromNewMex at: February 11, 2009
Went to Bandelier in mid June and really enjoyed the ranger-guided walk. It was hot but breezy and the insights into the puebloan architecture and use of natural materials was very educational for our 3 children (ages 8,10, and 13)and us.
Submitted by pilar at: July 1, 2008

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