Home Sweet Home: The interior of a cave at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument shows the craftsmanship of the Mogollon Culture people who settled in the area around 1260. The interior of the caves was constructed with stones and masonry and some timbers. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Cliff Dwelling: The Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument consists of five natural caves which have all been equipped with rooms. A total of 40 rooms are scattered among the five caves. The Mogollon Culture people only lived at the Gila Cliff Dwellings for 25-30 years before moving on to an unknown location. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
View From the Trail: The 1.1 mile round trip walk begins at the visitors center at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and leads visitors along the canyon floor before climbing up to the cliff dwellings. Shown is a view from the trail as one navigates up in elevation to the caves. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
“It’s a long and winding road” were words by the Beatles in their song of the same title almost six decades ago. Those are the words that best describe the journey to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. This unique national treasure is about 44 miles from Silver City. To say that the Gila Cliff Dwellings were “off the beaten path” would be an understatement as it is very remote.
While it is only 44 miles from Silver City, the road to the National Monument is a long and winding road … and the road does have some steep grades to add a little drama to the drive. It is recommended that visitors allow one and one half to two hours to make the drive from Silver City.
The plus side of this slow and winding drive is beautiful scenery all along the way. The park is located deep within the Gila National Forest and borders the Gila Wilderness. While the road to the park is very winding there are areas along the route to stop and view the surroundings. The views reveal the rugged terrain in which the National Monument lies making one ask the question “How did settlers even find this place back in the year 1260?”.
The area was settled around 1260 and evidence shows that construction of the dwellings within the caves on the cliff were inhabited by 1280. The area was settled by members in the Mogollon Culture, a southern ancestral pueblo culture. While the caves are all natural, there was extensive construction within the caves by man. The spaces and rooms were primarily constructed of stone and masonry with the use of some timbers.
The National Monument is made up of five connecting caves and there are 40 rooms total included in the five caves. The ruins of the cave dwellings has weathered time very well considering they were built over 850 years ago.
By the early 1300s after only about 25 years, the Mogollon inhabitants moved on and left the caves and walls behind. It is not known where the people moved to after leaving the Gila.
The Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is very remote but the drive to and from Silver City just added joy to our one day excursion from Silver City. The park has a visitors center with well-informed personnel who obviously love the monument and surrounding area. The gift shop had an impressive selection of local books covering the National Monument, the Gila Wilderness, and southwestern New Mexico.
The cave dwellings can be seen on a 1.1 mile round trip hike from the visitors center. The hike is moderate but does require climbing up many steps to reach the caves and a ladder from the caves to the trail exiting the ruins. The caves and rooms are large and visitors are allowed to walk among the caves but climbing on the ruins is not allowed. The walk takes about a one to two hours depending on time spent in the caves.
The Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument far exceeded our expectations and we are hoping to visit again.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Room With a View: The view from this area of the Gila Cliff Dwellings looks downwards into the canyon where the trail that visitors hike is located. All five caves at the National Monument have views from their various locations. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Interior Spaces: A view of the interior of a cliff dwelling reveal how each of the caves were were divided into rooms. Some spaces were larger than others but there were many rooms in each of the cliff dwellings. The caves where the dwellings exist are all natural caves which were modified by man for living. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Inside Looking Out: The beautiful and rugged country of the Gila National Forest around the cliff dwellings is seen from the last of the five caves at Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. The trail leads visitors through the five caves before descending down a ladder to the trail which takes visitors back to the visitors center. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com