Saturday, October 8, 2016

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument | New Mexico


This National Monument is reached by a narrow winding road from Silver City that sometimes feels like a one-lane road, since there is no center line.  There is another road that can be used, just a few miles west. When I arrived, I got an overview of the trail from a volunteer and then set out on my hike.


This is my first glimpse of the dwellings from the trail.



Then I got inside the caves.  The dwellings were built inside natural caves and alcoves, which made construction easier.  There were multiple areas where people lived back in the 1200s.  The Mogollon people left in the early 1300s.  It seem that most of these cliff dwellers in other areas moved on about that time also. 






This is the view of the area from inside.  The dwellings are almost 200 feet above the valley floor.





This is the view from the trail below the cliff dwellings.







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