Situated at approximately 6,200 feet on the Colorado Plateau’s southeast corner, Chaco Culture National Historic Park’s abundant and distinguished collection of ancestral Puebloan public and ceremonial buildings, over 1 million artifacts, and roads permitted the site to be placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1987. Chaco Canyon is one of only twenty World Heritage sites in the United States.

In an area that appears as an inhospitable desert where no life form is able to survive and the view only altered with the occasional butte land markers, the canyons that contain Chaco appear after 13 miles on the parched CR 7950 dirt road just three miles southeast of Nageezi in northern New Mexico on Navajo Nation. Chaco includes almost 4 thousand recorded archaeological sites.

A temporary visitor center, located in the closed Visitor’s Center parking lot, is currently available. An opening of the newly renovated Visitor Center is slated on February 2011. The temporary visitor center information desk offers assistance on tour guides, the nine mile paved trail loop, backcountry hiking trails, and the outlier sites of Chaco Cultural National Historic Park.

The nine mile paved trail loop is accessible by car or bicycle with five sites to be explored. Whether you choose a self-guided tour or a tour guide, Hungo Pavi, Chetro Ketl, Pueblo del Arroyo, Pueblo Bonito, and Casa Rinconada Community are all exemplary examples of Chacoan craftsmanship and petroglyphs.

Backcountry hiking trails supply new views of Chaco Canyon and access to additional sites only accessible on the hiking trails. Over four different backcountry hikes offer a panorama of stairways on rock faces, evidence of the 30 foot wide Chacoan Road, and a bonus of more Chacoan complexes. Your leashed pets can join you on the backcountry hiking trails.

Outlier sites of Kin Klizhin, Kin Bineola, Kin Ya’a and Pueblo Pintado are a part of the Chaco Culture National Historic Park but are accessed through private and tribal land. A four-wheel-drive vehicle with high clearance is recommended when traveling to the outlier sites. Tour guides are also available when venturing to the outlier sites.

Check out Chaco Night Sky Programs as well as calendar of events for seasonal Chaco events to further your world famous experience, taking you back between the years of 800 A.D. and 1200 A.D. when Chaco Canyon thrived.

More on Chaco Canyon and the variety of experiences to occur in upcoming articles.

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Jodie Blankenship