Southwest Native Trails (Balloon, Albuquerque )

Highlights

• Santa Fe: Visit Nambé Pueblo, a Native American community in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains famous for its public ceremonies and traditions, strong agriculture, traditional textiles and world-renowned pottery. Once the primary cultural and religious center for the northern New Mexican pueblo communities, Nambé Pueblo has existed at this site since the 14th century. Take in the sprawling land of nearly 20,000 acres of towering cottonwoods, junipers, scrub oak and an occasional outcropping of sandstone on your cultural visit including lunch with the community elders.
• Visit Trujillo's weaving shop and admire the New Mexico weaving tradition that dates back to Spanish Colonial times. Learn about the Trujillo family, whose members have been weavers in the Chimayo tradition for eight generations.
• Albuquerque: Over nine days in October, the much-anticipated sight of colourful balloons punctuate Albuquerque's skyline. During this season, the sky is bluer, the days are gentler and the mornings crisper, and on the desert’s warm breath sails the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta.
• Albuquerque: Home to one of the largest petroglyph sites in North America, featuring designs and symbols carved onto volcanic rocks by Native Americans and Spanish settlers 400 to 700 years ago. These images are a valuable record of cultural expression and hold profound spiritual significance for contemporary Native Americans and for the descendants of the early Spanish settlers.
• Albuquerque: Visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center in Albuquerque, gateway to the 19 Pueblos. Learn about the pueblo from ancient times to modern day through the museum and art galleries.
• See the graceful red sandstone arch geological formation for which the capital is named Tségháhoodzání (Window Rock). The small Memorial Tribal Park is not only home to Window Rock, but also to the Veterans Memorial, built to honour the many Navajo people who served in the U.S. military.
• Canyon De Chelly National Monument: See an ancient community built into a sandstone cliff as you peer over the edge of the White House Overlook to see the mastery of Ancient Puebloan construction. Watch nature defy gravity when you encounter Spider Rock and hear the legend of the mythical Spider Woman who is said to live in this towering stone spire.
• Bluff: Visit Hovenweep National Monument, one of the most intriguing pre-historic settlements in the Southwest, known for its six major villages and more than 300 additional sites within the National Monument.
• Mesa Verde National Park: Admire the ancient cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloan people, carved out of the sandstone of the canyon walls, at the UNESCO-listed Mesa Verde National Park. Several hundred of these dwellings, in addition to thousands of known archaeological sites, are preserved in this protected area and you'll have an opportunity to see several during your visit to the park, as you ride along the Mesa Top Loop, and Cliff Palace Loop, where you can see the magnificent Cliff Palace.
• Taos: Experience Taos Plaza, a Historical Landmark and artist colony in the heart of the Taos Historic District, home of 65 galleries, shops, restaurants, and 21 landmarks.
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What's this trip about?

This complete immersion in Native American Cultural Heritage will delight anyone who is interested in this rare opportunity to delve deeper into the captivating culture, traditions and history of the Ancestral Puebloans who once thrived in America's Southwest landscapes. This itinerary will include the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, the largest hot air balloon festival in the U.S., and end in Albuquerque.

Accommodation