Contact Information
HCR-1, Box 1, Suite 15
Los Alamos, NM 87544
505-672-3861
When you look up the sheer-walled canyon that marks the entrance to Bandelier National Monument you immediately know that this is a special place-carved hundreds of feet high on the rock walls are dramatic cliff dwellings. Standing as testament to an ancient civilization that once ruled a swath of the Southwest, these ruins are some of the most interesting and distinctive archeological remnants to be found in North America.Named for Adolph Bandelier, a 19th-century anthropologist, this national monument is a bewitching combination of archeological, historic, and natural features. Established in 1916, Bandelier covers nearly 50 square miles of steep narrow canyons that flow from the 10,000 foot peaks of the Jemez Mountians to the Rio Grande River. Part of one of the world's largest volcanic calderas, it is home to wide variety of wildlife, including mountain lions, elk, black bear and the protected Jemez Mountain Salamander. These critters roam among the acres of pristine backcountry. But it is the spectacular 13th-century Anasazi ruins that distinguish Bandelier as a unique experience.
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