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The cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde are some of the most notable and best preserved in North America. Sometime during the late 1190s, after primarily living on the mesa tops for 600 years, many Ancestral Pueblo people began moving into pueblos they built into natural cliff alcoves.
On these special tours, rangers guide groups into Mesa Verde's backcountry to visit the park's lesser-seen cliff dwellings. Backcountry tours are held once daily starting May 24th and are limited to 10 people.
Out of over 600 cliff dwellings within the boundaries of the park, 75% contain only 1-5 rooms each, and many are single room storage units. If you visit the Cliff Palace overlook you will view an exceptionally large dwelling which may have had special significance to the original occupants.
For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 27 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the past.
Spruce Tree House, the third largest cliff dwelling (Cliff Palace and Long House are larger), was constructed between about 1211 and 1278 CE by the ancestors of the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest.
Most of the best-known and most heavily visited Mesa Verde cliff dwellings are found on Chapin Mesa. Cliff Palace, Balcony House, and Spruce Tree House are among the largest and most impressive cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, but they are atypical of alcove sites in general.
Along the road, you’ll find short, paved trails to view twelve ancestral sites, including surface sites and overlooks of cliff dwellings—the ancient homes and villages of the Ancestral Pueblo people who lived here for more than 700 years.
Cliff Dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park. Mesa Top Cultural Sites Mesa Top Cultural Sites of Mesa Verde National Park. Historic Photos Historic Photos of Mesa Verde National Park. Wildlife Wildlife of Mesa Verde National Park. Common Plants Common Plants of Mesa Verde National Park.
The Step House alcove is unique at Mesa Verde because it provides clear archeological evidence of two separate occupations—a Basketmaker III (BM III) pithouse community dating to early 600s CE, and a Pueblo III (P III) masonry pueblo dating to the 1200s.
Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling in the park, inspires visitors to imagine what life was like over seven hundred years ago. But the task of preserving this nearly eight century old site has its challenges as well as its rewards.