Montezuma Castle

Our visit today was the Montezuma Castle National Monument. It has been described as the best preserved and most dramatic cliff dwelling in the U.S.


And what a sight! Unlike the Gila Cliff Dwellings, we were unable to actually enter the homes of the Sinagua Indians and had to view them from the ground. Still, there were plenty of signs describing the rooms and buildings as well as the lives of these semi migratory people.


The self guided tour begins in the National Park building with displays of Indian life in these 19 rooms ending about 1400 when the castle was abandoned.


It's a 1/3 mile walk through the Arizona sycamore trees where rangers are stationed to answer questions and protect the remains of the ancient buildings. Just past the castle, are the remains of Castle A where up to 200 people lived in the 45 - 50 rooms built closer to the ground and river. Unfortunately, this was destroyed by fire thousands of years ago.

Following our visit to Montezuma Castle, we drove north on I-17 about 10 miles to Montezuma Well.


This is a natural limestone sinkhole that is about 11,000 years old and provided a natural oasis to many unique species. Underground springs replenish this well with a flow of over 1,400,000 gallons a day.


As you can see, the Indians took advantage of this water supply and build their homes in the cliffs and overhangs of the limestone well.


We both enjoyed the variety of wildlife. There were muskrats swimming in the water and building homes, lots of different birds and we were warned to stay on the path due to rattlesnake sightings.


We followed the trail down to the 55 foot deep lake where we discovered more ruins built in the shade of the limestone overhangs.

What a wonderful way to spend a cool, overcast day in northern Arizona.