The Mesa Verde National Park located in Colorado (United States) and has been declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.
background
Mesa Verde is a major archaeological site in the United States. It is located near the Four Corners Area, where Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico meet. The closest city is Cortez, Co. Mesa Verde is Spanish and means green table mountain (green table), which rises 600 m from the plain to almost 2,000 m above sea level. The National Park was established in 1906 to protect the archaeological heritage of the native United States people. More than 4,000 archaeological sites have been found in the national park. A few are open to visitors.
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history
1400 years ago, people who the Navajo later called Anasazi ("enemy ancestors") chose Mesa Verde as their place of residence. Today these people are called "Ancestral Pueblo People". They lived here for 700 years and then disappeared for reasons not fully known. Cowboys have the 1880 Cliff Dwellings (Cliff dwellings) discovered. After that, archaeologists looked at the cliff dewllings. Since the Ancestral Pueblo People knew no writing, only their buildings, ceramics and pictograms (rock paintings) and petroglyphs (carved rock drawings) have been preserved. In the heyday of 1000-1300 there was a highly developed culture. It was only a few decades before people abandoned the area that they built these Cliff Dwellings. Most of the rooms were pantries, only a few people lived in the dwellings. They used a mixture of ash, clay and water as mortar. The sturdy walls survived the next 700 years well. The Ancestral Pueblo People grew corn, beans, and pumpkins, gathered wild herbs, and hunted deer, ground squirrels, and rabbits. Why they left the high plateau is left to speculation. Their descendants can be found today in the Tewa-speaking pueblo reservations along the Rio Grande. Few have moved to the southwest and are the ancestors of the Hopi.
landscape
Mesa Verde is a plateau that is covered with conifers. There have been many forest fires in recent years. Large areas of forest have been burned. But as always, nature is regaining lost ground. It will probably look very depressing for the next few years.
Flora and fauna
Ponderosa Pine, Douglas Fir, Quaking Aspen, Utah Juniper and other conifers grow on the plateau.
climate
getting there
- The nearest airports are Durango (DRO; 50 miles away) and Farmington (FMN; 110 miles).
- By car from the south on US-491 to Cortez and another 10 miles east to the Visitor Center. East to Durango, Co and continue 36 miles west on US 160 to the park entrance. It's now 15 miles to the plateau.
Fees / permits
A fee of USD 15.00 per car was paid at the park entrance from May 22nd to September 7th, 2015. For the rest of the year entry was USD 10.00. Admission for two-wheelers was USD 8.00 or 5.00 per person. The National Park Pass is also valid here.
mobility
Bus tours are offered. The company ARAMARK is offering half-day ranger-led tours to many points from April 17th.
Tourist Attractions
The Visitor Center is located directly on the left after the exit from US 160. Guided tours can be booked there. Guided tours can also be booked at the Colorado Welcome Center in Cortez, the Morefield Ranger Station, and the Chaplin Mesa Archeological Museum. It is advisable to buy them outside the park, at the latest in the visitor center.
There are two circular car routes. The first, Cliff Palace Loop Road, is 10 km long and leads to the Cliff Palace, Balcony House and other viewpoints. The second, Mesa Top Loop Road, leads to many points such as B. to the Pithouse and Sun Temple. It is also 10 km long.
Cliff Palace Loop Road
- From Balcony House Parking lot you can not see the Balcony House. The Balcony House can only be visited as part of a guided tour. It costs USD 4.00 per person and is described as exhausting. During the tour you have to climb down a 10 m long ladder, crawl on your knees through a 4 m long tunnel that is only 46 cm wide and climb up a 20 m high rock overhang on two ladders. The Balcony House is a small dwelling. The guided tour lasts an hour. The detailed opening times can be found here read up.
- The Cliff Palace Tour is less strenuous. You have to book this tour at the visitor center. It costs USD 4.00 per person. Visiting the largest cliff dwell in the USA is very worthwhile. You go down from the parking lot to the Cliff Palace Overlook. There you wait for the ranger while you can enjoy a great view from above. 700,000 visitors come here every year. One group follows the other in mid-May. Then the descent begins first over a staircase and then over narrow stone steps in a channel to a path and over a 3 m long wooden ladder up to the Cliff Palace. The complex was built in the 13th century, during the heyday of the Anasazi culture. It was the largest settlement under a cliff (ledge, alcove) in what is now the United States. There were 150 living quarters, 23 kivas in multi-story houses, in which about a hundred people lived. The walls are made of hewn sandstone and the inside is plastered with clay. The mortar consisted of ash, clay and water. The ceilings were made of wooden beams, covered with reeds that were plastered with clay. One might assume that the capital or the spiritual center of the Anasazi was here. The guided tour runs every half hour from May 27th to September 11th; the rest of the time, the Cliff Dwelling is closed to visitors.
Mesa Top Loop Road
- At the Pithouse one shows under a canopy how earth houses were built between 550 and 750 AD. The people lived halfway underground. The part above ground was made of wood and covered with clay. A fire burned in the middle of one room. The smoke was evacuated through a sophisticated ventilation system. Supplies were kept separately. That was the time of the basket makers. Yucca fibers were also used to make ropes and clothes. Turkey feathers were also woven. However, the risk of fire was great.
- From Navajo Canyon View there is a nice view of the wooded canyon.
- At the Square Tower House Quite close under a ledge (alcove) you can see square houses that were built around 660.
- At the Pithouses and Villages Stop the development of house construction over the centuries is demonstrated. From holes in the ground to plastered stone houses for several families. Since the reed-roofed earth houses with a fireplace in the middle often burned, stone houses began to be built from 1000 AD. They were more stable and better houses with 3 rooms and a kiva. Clothes were woven from cotton that came from southern Arizona. From 1075 the Anasazis built two-story houses with thicker walls. The kiva was integrated in the early houses. Separate kivas were later built. From 1200 onwards, the houses were moved from the Mesa Top, from the plateau under the ledges to the alcoves. You don't know exactly why. The kiva was the center of a village. They met there. The round (guard) tower was often connected to the kiva underground. Obviously after 1200 the water became scarcer and the hunt was less profitable. Therefore the first clans decided to migrate south. There the Anasazis mixed with other tribes and were absorbed. The Hopis in northern Arizona claim to be the successors of the Anasazis.
- The next stop offers a nice view of the Cliff Palace (left) and a smaller dwelling (right) from the period 1200-1300.
- You can see that in the following Outlook without a parking space Oaktree House from 1250. On this bank you have many views of alcoves with ruins, for example. B. Fire Temple etc.
- The big one stands at another stop Sun Temple. It is so large and about 80 cm thick that many people must have built it, from which we can conclude that it must have been a joint effort by many Anasazi. It was not completed because the Anasazi began to move on. It dates back to 1250. The sandstone was worked with harder pebbles from the river. At this point you still have a nice view of Cliff Palace.
- Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum shows archaeological finds and findings on display boards. Open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. You can also buy videos and souvenirs in a bookstore.
activities
- Hike to the Spruce Tree House. That is the best preserved Cliff Dwelling. The path begins at the entrance to the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and leads to the destination via a 1 km long path with a 30 m difference in altitude. There are rangers there who can answer questions. You should take 45 minutes. Open from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
- Hike on the Petroglyph Point Trail. The trail starts at the Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum and follows the trail to the Spruce Tree House. At the bottom of the Spruce Canyon, the path turns right and leads approximately 50 m below the edge of the canyon through sparse forest. The petroglyphs are worth seeing after 1.2 miles. The path now climbs up to the edge of the break-off and leads along it back to the museum.
shop
kitchen
- The Farview Restaurant is excellent. Buffalo steak (USD 32.00) and filet mignon (USD 28.00) are very good. There is also wine here, e.g. Kendall Jackson Chardonnay (USD 28.00).
- Spruce Tree Terrace Restaurant at the Chapin Mesa Museum is open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
accommodation
Hotels and hostels
- Far View Lodge, 150 rooms with balcony, phone 001-1-800-449-2288 is the only hotel in the park. It is open from April 15 to October 24, 2016; the overnight stay costs from USD 107.90 including taxes for a double room. Internet: http://www.visitmesaverde.com. From the balconies of the rooms you have a great view over the mesa and down into the plain to the San Juan Mountains.
In Cortez there is
- Best Western Hotel
- Budget motel
- Americas Best Value Hotel.
There are two hotels in Mancos, 7 miles east of the park entrance.
camping
- The Morefield Campground in the park is open from April 29th to October 20th, 2016. An overnight stay on a "Full Hookup" pitch costs USD 41.92 including taxes. There is also a grocery store and one here Gas station.
