Montezuma Castle National Monument

The Verde Valley was once home to the Sinagua people – pre-Colombian cliff dwellers.

We took the day off hiking to explore several sites just a stones throw from our RV park. First stop: Montezuma Castle National Park where the cliffs hold the history of the Sinagua people, cliff dwellers who populated the area from 1100-1425. We thoroughly enjoyed the park, but were glad we arrived early. The relatively small parking lot filled quickly.

Montezuma Well is a natural wonder.

Our next stop: A natural limestone sinkhole surrounded by lush vegetation. Montezuma Well appears as an oasis in a desert setting. An incredible 1.5 million gallons of water bubble up each day from this natural spring so it’s easy to understand why the waters have been used for irrigation since the 8th century.

These are just a portion of the 1,032 petroglyphs covering the rock wall.

Our third and last stop was the V-Bar-V Heritage Site, home to the largest collection of Sinagua petroglyphs in the Verde Valley. It was a pleasant stroll out to the site where a ranger was ready and waiting to provide a history and explanation of the ancient art.

Categories: Road Trips | Tags: , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Post navigation

5 thoughts on “Montezuma Castle National Monument

  1. The arid environment keeps these artifacts “alive” for centuries

    Liked by 1 person

  2. The cliff dwellers are similar to the Anasazi sites we saw in Sedona

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Henry Buck

    I was just there in October if 2018. It’s absolutely fascinating! Wish I could go back in time to live there just for a day. Thank you for posting.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Looks a fascinating place to explore. Very dry and very hot though.

    Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Blog at WordPress.com.