Hike the Pueblo Loop Trail to the Alcove House Trail in Bandelier National Monument

In Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico stone dwellings are carved into rugged cliffs made from hardened volcanic ash, and down below, a canyon flows through this spiritual land where the ancient pueblo people once lived. Take the Pueblo Loop Trail to the Alcove House Trail where you can climb into small human-carved alcoves called cavates, and then climb 4 wooden ladders and many stone stairs into Alcove House.

Details

• Trailhead location:

• Nature Trail: 2.6 mile loop trailRated: Easy

• Elevation change: 252 feet

• Bandelier National Monument fee is $25 per vehicle. You can also purchase a park specific annual pass for $45.

Tip: Wearing proper hiking shoes is essential to ensure comfort, stability, and protection while navigating challenging trails.

The trail is clearly marked from the Visitor Center. Start walking down the dirt path, eventually you’ll get to the carved cliffside dwellings. There are ladders to the cavates that you can climb into like in the photo below.

This is one of the many cavates

You can see all the dwellings the Pueblo people carved into the side of a cliff. It’s pretty amazing to imagine what it would’ve been like living in some of these caves high above the ground.

As you climb higher, you get a top view of the village of Tyuonyi and Talus House. The pueblos generally were built without doors, and the only way you could get into them was to climb a ladder and go inside from the top. They were built this way for defense. If there was danger, they would withdraw the ladders so no one could get inside.

To get to the Alcove House, you have to climb four steep wooden ladders. If you’re afraid or heights, I would avoid this climb. Below is the view from the trail. You can vaguely see the ladders at right about the middle of the photo, and the Alcove House is the shadowed overhang on the upper right. There isn’t really a “house,” but more of a lookout from high above. It’s a fun climb up, just be extra cautious because it’s pretty steep.

Below is the last ladder up to the top of the Alcove House.

All in all, this is a pretty incredible trail because of the interesting dwellings all along the way. If you are visiting Santa Fe or Albuquerque, this is great half day trip to hike this trail. Do you have any other recommendations for Bandelier National Monument? Please leave them in the comments below.