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| Frijoles Canyon at Bandelier National Monument. |
With summer waning and vacation crowds thinning it’s a great
time to visit one of New Mexico ’s
many scenic historic sites such as Bandelier
National Monument
Just a short drive from Albuquerque
or Santa Fe the national monument
showcases ancient Indian cave dwellings in a remote forested canyon.
Visitors can learn more about the people who lived in the canyon
and caves as they hike among them along a 1.2 mile main loop trail. Ladders
allow visitors to climb into the caves for a firsthand experience while plenty
of interpretive signs are posted to provide historical context.
More adventurous guests can continue up the canyon to Alcove
House where they’ll scale four sets of ladders to a large cave in the cliff face
about 140 feet above the canyon floor. The dizzying heights are not for the
meek of heart and make for a memorable visit.
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| Pole ladders lead up into caves at Bandelier National Monument. Photo courtesy of Leanne Arvila. |
After a couple of hours touring the main loop trail and
Alcove House many guests return to the visitor center where they can enjoy an
excellent 14-minute film about the monument while relaxing in the air
conditioned comfort of the monument’s auditorium.
Recently produced by award-winning National Park Service
cinematographer John Grabowska, it features towering, expansive views of
Bandelier, the Pajarito Plateau, the Jemez
Mountains Rio Grande .
The film was shot during different seasons of the year with
many scenes taken by helicopter and played back in slow motion to give viewers
the sense of flying over the countryside.
The park also offers plenty of other activities including
demonstrations by artists from surrounding pueblos, guided hikes and evening
seminars at the park’s Juniper campground amphitheater.
Visitors will find other hiking and camping opportunities
within the monument by visiting the Bandelier website at https://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm.
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| A cloud burst at Bandelier National Monument. Photo courtesy of John Gonzales of Lubbock, Texas. |
The basic park entrance fee is $25 per private carload which
is good for seven days and allows access to Tsankawi and other areas of the
park such as Burnt Mesa.
At Tsankawi visitors can take a 1.5 mile walk along a mesa featuring numerous caves, petroglyphs and the ruins of thevillage
of Tsankawi Rio
Grande Valley
At Tsankawi visitors can take a 1.5 mile walk along a mesa featuring numerous caves, petroglyphs and the ruins of the
The parking lot for Tsankawi is found off N.M. 4 at the
intersection of the East Jemez Road ,
also known locally as the Los Alamos National Labs Truck Route. Visit the monument’s
website and download a good map of the area at https://www.nps.gov/band/planyourvisit/tsankawi.htm.
Visitors to Bandelier are required to travel into the
monument on a free shuttle bus between the hours of 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Before or after that visitors can drive in. The monument is open dawn to dusk.
There are exceptions including vehicles displaying a handicapped placard and
for vehicles containing animals, although not pets are allowed on trails within
the monument. Campers and wayward travelers park at Juniper Campground where they then
take the shuttle down to the visitor’s center.
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| The author drives a Bandelier shuttle bus for Atomic City Transit |
The shuttle buses are operated by Los Alamos County Atomic
City Transit under contract with the National Park Service. The buses leave the
White Rock
Visitor Center 9 a.m.
during the week and every 20 minutes on the weekends. The last bus is scheduled
to leave Bandelier daily at 5 p.m. on
weekdays and 5:10 p.m. on weekends.
All buses stop within the park at Juniper Campground to pick up and drop off
passengers.
For maps, directions and more information please visit the
monument’s website at https://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm
or
contact them by telephone at (505) 672-3861 x517. for
more information
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