Puye Cliff Dwellings

Five stars for a great look into the ancient Pueblo people. The 1 hr Mesa top tour was perfect- I recommend checking the weather and going early or later in the day because it can get very hot and there is no shade at the top where they do most of the talking about the history. Our tour guide was Samantha and she did a great job. They have done a beautiful job maintaining the site and hiring local tribe members.Overall, it was great to walk through the ruins and while terrifying to get to, it was so cool to see the cliff dwellings up close. Definitely have to be moderately fit to make it down the hill but they do have the option to take the tour van they use to get us to the top back down. That said, if you don't climb down you miss the best part of the tour. I recommend wearing clothes that you can rinse off easily (I had an athletic skort on which was the perfect material to dust off).

Gorgeous 360-degree views from the mesa top! Fascinating history of the 100 generations of people who used the mesa top in summer and the cliff dwellings in winter! A great educational tour by our guide Simon who is friendly, helpful, humorous, and knowledgeable--thank you!If you're interested in the Puye Adventure trip (2hrs), it's only available first thing in the morning because the cliffside gets too hot later.I recommend hiking boots or other closed toe shoes with good treads because of the narrow trails as well as a long climb down a ladder from the mesa top to the cliff dwellings. Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated during the two-hour tour as well.

We have been to Mesa Verde and Bandelier and still found this tour interesting. It is a nice complement to the other two places. And, in contrast to the other two, there were 6 cars in the parking lot and 9 people on our tour. The Ruins are within the Santa Clara Pueblo and the guides are students from the Pueblo. The visitors center is an old Harvey House. We took the one-hour cliff side tour ($20 per person) which involved walking uphill on a dirt trail and then walking along the cliff edge next to the dugout dwellings and petroglyphs. The walk up hill on the dirt trail was the hardest part of the walk. The downhill walk was on a paved trail. However, the tour after ours started on the paved trail behind the Visitors Center. Very clean bathrooms here and some exhibits about the Pueblo's past and present in the Visitors Center. It's about 8 miles on paved roads from Highway 30. It's a dusty and hot walk so bring water (or buy it in the gift shop) and dress appropriately.

To be honest, I never would have come if it wasn't for the National Parks being shutdown, but I am really glad I did. Roughly $20 per adult and it was worth every penny. I was on the Mesa too tour which was only supposed to last an hour but ended up being closer to 2.5 hours. We walked all around the top and the guide was extremely knowledgeable. He pointed out different features of not only the dwellings, but the surrounding areas as well. We then went down the cliffs and toured the cave dwellings. This part is not only physically strenuous, but absolutely breathtaking. It was a long, slow descent but he helped people out and pointed out the hieroglyphs along the way. This was where he went above and beyond. This was not actually part of the Mesa top tour but I'm glad we went this way. Word of caution: if you have a fear of heights like I do, you may want to rethink this option. I went that way because it sounded like a good idea at the time. By the time we got to the 30 foot ladder, I was shaking like a leaf but I'm hard headed and am constantly pushing myself hoping I overcome it. I haven't yet but I'm not giving up either.At the end of the tour, the guide invited all of us to participate in the feast day at the Santa Clara Pueblo with his tribe. I am sincerely hoping I can fit it into my itinerary.

Puye Cliff Dwellings is located outside Espanola and on the way to Los Alamos. It's part of the Santa Clara Pueblo and is a historical treasure (and national landmark) on par with nearby Bandelier. In the Tewa language, the name Puye translates as "pueblo ruin where the rabbits assemble or meet."For more than three centuries - about A.D. 1250 to 1577 - this spectacular and isolated community was home for over 1500 Santa Clara Pueblo Indians who built villages, dwelled, farmed, and hunted game here. They had to move 10 miles east to the present Pueblo location when drought caused springs to dry up and crops to fail.Gayle, Erin, Jim and I spent a few hours here, starting with restored 1930s Harvey House, which features a gift shop on one side and a small but nicely curated museum on the other. It's a little bit of a hike out here (past the Welcome Center), and it was well worth the time, effort, and fascinating history lesson. Gayle and I also came away with a couple ceramic grandfather owls by a resident local artist in keeping with this Pueblo's artistic reputation. We took the Mesa Top Tour, which involved a ride up to the top. We were greeted with outstanding views and a fascinating guided tour by a member of the Pueblo. We had the chance to climb with a Kiva, explore the multi-room ancient home and common areas, and then climb down past the cliff dwellings and back down to the Harvey House. It was a eye-opening and humble experience. It was well worth the time and the modest cost to take the tour and learn from one of the Pueblo's best. I want to come back and learn more.

The Puye cliff dwellings were awesome. We were picked up by a van and brought to the top of the Mesa. Full 360 views. The guide was awesome and took us down the staircases and ladder on the cliff face (there was an option to go back down with the van). Would recommend!

Great tour did the mesa one and it was the best onetour guide was great and visitor center was very nice

Quiet with knowledgeable guides. Great side trip off the beaten track. It's been a few years but it certainly hasn't changed..

Absolutely amazing. Lots of walking and climbing. Stunning view, amazing history. Our guide was fantastic.

Drove there today and they are closed! Wish this info was posted on yelp or other so people don't waste their time and gas!