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Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec, NM

Photo: Rationalobserver, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingHistory BuffFree

Aztec Ruins National Monument

Aztec Ruins National Monument is a sightseeing stop in Aztec, NM, part of the San Juan Mountains guide. Cost: free.

725 Ruins Rd · Aztec, NM

Why you should go…

Aztec Ruins preserves an ancestral Pueblo settlement that flourished along the Animas River from the late 1000s to the late 1200s. A half-mile self-guided trail leads you through Aztec West, which once held more than 400 rooms on three stories, including original rooms with intact timber roofs. You can also step inside the restored Great Kiva and visit the park museum. The name is a mistake by 19th-century settlers, and the site is part of the Chaco Culture World Heritage Site.

  • #national monument
  • #ancestral pueblo ruins
  • #great kiva
  • #archaeological site
  • #world heritage site

What's around here?

The closest stops to Aztec Ruins National Monument, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

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  • Eat & Drink
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  • Stay
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    28 mi awaySwitch it up: Stay

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    Cliff Palace

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    Climb ladders with a ranger into a sandstone cliff dwelling built by Ancestral Puebloans around 1200.

    35 mi awayMore like this

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