Visiting a Native American pueblo in or near Santa Fe

Taos Pueblo in Taos is great. I have been to several smaller ones nearer Santa Fe. Go to santafe.org and they list 8 with descriptions so you can see what intrigues you. Santa Fe and Taos are wonderful places to explore, food is fantastic, galleries and shops etc. But outside of the towns there is Bandelier National Park and The Ghost ranch where you can take Georgia O Keefe tours and see the places she painted. A very unique part of the US, enjoy!

saad.tafif992, here's a good website that can help: eight pueblos north of santa fe I cant recall the one the with ancient site we visited with the cliff dwellings but it was very close to Santa Fe.

I think it helps to read some history before visiting, and avoid the casinos. Take some water with you as amenities are often scarce if you are walking around. And don't assume that all facilities are open for public visiting - some places are people's homes.

I love the Santa Fe and Taos area of NM but never visited any of the Pueblos around there. I've been told that both Taos and San Ildefonso are good ones to visit. When I stayed in Albuquerque with a friend we visited Jemez Pueblo and it was a wonderful experience. It's closer to Albuquerque but not that far from Santa Fe. We visited with a native artist and bought some pottery from them (a great souvenir). I think any of the pueblos are interesting places to visit and, as recommended by the other poster, Bandolier Nat'l Monument is well worth visiting for insight into the native history of the area - it was one of my favorite national monuments to visit. It's been many years but if it's still available and you are agile enough climbing the ladder to check out the preserved living areas is worth the effort.

Hi there, saad.latif1992!
You are asking about my favorite part of the US. :O).
Santa Fe is our very favorite small US city. Yes, there definitely are some pueblos that are open to the public! This page provided by the National Park Service may be helpful in starting your research:

https://www.nps.gov/petr/planyourvisit/pueblos.htm

And these websites are even more useful:
https://www.newmexico.org/native-culture/
https://indianpueblo.org

Etiquette when visiting a pueblo:
https://indianpueblo.org/visiting-a-pueblo/

Many have ceremonies and dances that are open to the public (reference the etiquette link for rules of conduct) but other ceremonies are closed to outsiders. Some pueblos are also accessed only via tours led by tribal members. The two most commonly visited - and which we've done - are Taos Pueblo (in Taos; abt, 90 minutes from SF) and Acoma (nearer Albuquerque and abt. 2 hours from SF.) See their websites for visiting info, event calendars and entry fees:

https://taospueblo.com (also watch the video)
https://www.acomaskycity.org/page/home

These are considered the most important as they've changed little over time compared to others. Honestly, if you really want the pueblo experience, I'd make the drive to Taos. Tours of that one are optional but I'd opt for one for the background story. Tribal members who choose to reside within the old historic village (others live outside of it on pueblo lands and in more modern residences) do so without electricity or running water. You can also spend some time in town browsing the shops, have dinner, etc. before heading back to SF. I am assuming you'll have a car?

In Santa Fe I'd highly recommend the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture and Wheelwright Museum of the American Indian. Pecos National Historic Park may also be a good one as it's not far from SF - only 25 miles - and has a well-explained Ancestral Sites Trail walking route through the ruins of a pueblo and an enormous mission church. We just did that one this past spring and throught it was well worth the visit. LOL, I took way too many pictures!

https://www.nps.gov/peco/index.htm

Just a start? i'll noodle for more ideas. Oh, and read up on the Pueblo Revolt of 1680: it's an important chapter in NM history.

You do not indicate where you are coming from or going to before/after your stop in Santa Fe, but if you happen to be including Arizona on this trip, you may find the Petrified Forest-Painted Desert National Park of interest.

https://www.nps.gov/pefo/planyourvisit/index.htm

Was there just a few weeks ago and was a very worthwhile diversion on the drive from Santa Fe to Phoenix.

We visited the Acoma Pueblo (mentioned above) a few years ago. It was a guided tour and we enjoyed it. You were only permitted to be there if you took the guided tour, and wandering off wasn’t permitted. It’s the only pueblo I’ve ever visited (so nothing to compare it to) but I thought it was a worthwhile experience.

I visited the Acoma pueblo last January. As already mentioned, they have a museum, a restaurant, and a tour they takes you up to the traditional area. Great scenery and informative. They also have a place where traditional crafts people, mostly potters, show and sell their work. There is information on the Acoma pueblo website.

joe32F,

In response to your message.

I will be flying to Santa Fe from Houston and after Santa Fe I will be flying back to Houston after my 3 days in Santa Fe. I am travelling to Houston for work but I might not have work related meetings every day and may possibly do some sightseeing and exploring when I am in Houston. However, I have been to Houston many times in my life so it is not a new city to me and I know it somewhat well.

I recommend that you look at TripAdvisor reviews of pueblos and also search for videos about pueblos on YouTube to confirm that you want to visit one and to choose which one. A friend and I were in the Santa Fe area last week. We considered visiting the famous pueblo in Taos but decided against it after reading TripAdvisor reviews noting how touristy it was. In contrast, some people highly rate visiting pueblos.

We did a day trip from santa fe to visit the Taos Pueblo in Taos. Worth seeing.
Drove the high road scenic drive from santa fe to Taos.
Drove the low road back and had dinner at rancho chimayo.

I’ve been to both Acoma Pueblo and Taos Pueblo and thought both were excellent. Acoma Pueblo is particularly stunning because of the location.

It’s always going to be a bit of a touristy experience - tourists want to see a lifestyle that doesn’t exactly exist anymore, so there’ll be a certain amount of performance.

But I thought the location of Acoma was breathtaking and I remember an interesting interpretative film in the visitor centre.

dinner at rancho chimayo.

ahhhhhhhhh, paradise

I still have some of their fabulous ground Chimayo, nearly 30 years old. Still excellent, spectacular quality. (I bought a LOT).

and I regularly refer to their cookbook....

...dinner at rancho chimayo.

http://www.ranchodechimayo.com

Another vote for this one!!! And if you have time to stop at nearby El Santuario de Chimayo, I'll recommend doing so; one of the more photographed places and with an interesting creation story and many santos (bultos and retablos), which are a unique type of religious folk art found largely in New Mexico.

https://www.nps.gov/places/el-santuario-de-chimayo.htm
https://www.holychimayo.us
http://colonialmexicoinsideandout.blogspot.com/2014/09/understanding-new-mexicos-santos.html

Just outside of Taos is San Francisco de Asís (St Francis of Assisi) mission church: another of New Mexico's most-photographed and painted structures. The adobe mission churches are another important piece of NM history.

https://sfranchos.org/national-historic-landmark
https://www.nps.gov/places/san-francisco-de-assisi-mission-church-ranchos-de-taos-new-mexico.htm

Regarding the historic pueblo at Taos being "touristy", the tribal community is pretty private; you won't see many of them out and about within the areas visitors are allowed to see. The few who still live within don't want to be photographed or treated like a tourist attractions, although our guide was personable (I guess it's hit or miss) and provided a good overview of the structures and pueblo life. Tribal members do sell pueblo-made items (jewelry, pottery, art, fry bread, smudges, etc.) out of some of the houses so it can feel sort of "staged".

I'll agree that the view from Acoma's lofty perch was wonderful; it may just be further than you want to drive.