Explore the Aztec ....Ruins...Missions... and Native American Heritage

Its not called the Land of Enchantment for Nothing:

 

 

Ruins: Aztec Ruins National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, El Morro National Monument, Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument, Petroglyph National Monument, Puye Cliff Dwellings National Historic Landmark, Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, Village of the Great Kivas

Missions: Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Zia, Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Porciuncula de los Pecos, Nuestra Señora de Purísima Concepción de Quarai, San Agustín de la Isleta Mission, San Buenaventura de Cochiti, San Esteban del Rey de Acoma, San Felipe Mission, San Gregorio de Abó Mission, San Ildefonso Mission, San Buenaventura de Humanas (Gran Quivira) and San Isidro, San José (Giusewa) de Jémez Mission, San José de Laguna, San Lorenzo de Picurís, San Miguel Mission Chapel, Santa Ana Pueblo Mission, Santo Domingo Mission, Santuario de Chimayó, Santuario de Guadalupe

Travel to the links and don't forget to pack for adventure - wear your best hiking shoes and bring along your cameras or the compact easel. These will memories to last a lifetime. 

Ruins:
Aztec Ruins National Monument - Nestled on a high plateau in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, Aztec stretches along the Animas River.
Bandelier National Monument - Hundreds of ruins of Anasazi cliff houses and pueblo-style dwellings lay scattered across the Pajarito Plateau of northern New Mexico near Los Alamos.
Chaco Culture National Historical Park - Chaco Canyon, located in central New Mexico, was an important Anasazi (ancient Native American) cultural center from about 900 through 1130 AD.
El Morro National Monument - Near present-day Grants, a reliable waterhole hidden at its base made El Morro (or Inscription Rock) a popular campsite. Beginning in the late 1500s, Spanish, and later, Americans passed by El Morro.
Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument - Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument near Silver City offers a glimpse of the homes and lives of the people of the Mogollon culture who lived in the Gila Wilderness from the 1280s through the early 1300s.
Petroglyph National Monument - More than 15,000 fascinating ancient Indian rock drawings (petroglyphs) are preserved in the Monument jointly managed by the United States Park Service and the City of Albuquerque.
Three Rivers Petroglyph Site -The Three Rivers Petroglyphs Site near Las Cruces is one of the few locations in the Southwest set aside solely because of its rock art.
Village of the Great Kivas - Near Ramah, the main archeological sites illustrating the development of Zuni culture are the Village of the Great Kivas, Yellow House, Kechipbowa and Hawihuh.
Missions:
Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Zia - Established in 1706, this mission was the site where a mass baptism of Zia residents took place following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 and the subsequent reconquest by the Spanish.
Nuestra Señora de los Angeles de Porciuncula de los Pecos - During the Spanish colonial period, this church in Pecos was the largest European structure north of the Mexican border.
Nuestra Señora de Purísima Concepción de Quarai - Of the ruins of 17th-century mission churches at Salinas National Monument, this one is the most complete.
San Agustín de la Isleta Mission - The pueblo itself dates back to the 1300s, more than 300 years before the arrival of the Spanish. Their conversion to Christianity was marked by the construction of the San Agustín de la Isleta mission, also known by its English name, Saint Augustine Church.
San Buenaventura de Cochiti - Cochiti is one of the more modern pueblos, and as such retains fewer of the historic landmarks of other pueblos. The mission church is one of the few reminders of the era of Spanish rule; the pueblo's main attractions are recreation and crafts.
San Esteban del Rey de Acoma - Begun in 1630, 32 years after Juan de Oñate took possession of New Mexico in the name of King Philip II of Spain, San Esteban del Rey Church in Acoma Pueblo was one of the few Spanish missions to survive the Pueblo Revolt of 1680.
San Felipe Mission - The Pueblo of San Felipe is one of the most private and traditional of the Keresan-speaking Pueblos, but it does open to the public for its renowned Corn Dance, held each May 1 on the Feast of St. Philip (San Felipe). The mission church is the centerpiece of the plaza.
San Gregorio de Abó Mission - Established in 1622, the church and convento near present-day Mountain Air were extensively rebuilt in the 1640s. A second renovation of the convento was undertaken in the 1650s.
San Ildefonso Mission - The Mission at San Ildefonso became the center of Franciscan activity in the north when first built. The church was burned down in 1696 and then rebuilt later by the Spanish. The new church remained practically unaltered until several years ago, when several substantial changes were made.
San Buenaventura de Humanas (Gran Quivira) and San Isidro - Franciscans began converting Abó residents in the Salinas area in 1622, and by the late 1620s the first church was finished. Later, a second church was built with a sophisticated buttressing technique unusual in 17th Century New Mexico.
San José (Giusewa) de Jémez Mission - The stabilized ruins of the mission church in Jemez are among several sites of interest here.
San José de Laguna - Constructed between 1699 and 1701, this one-story adobe church in Laguna is a well-preserved example of a Spanish Colonial mission.
San Lorenzo de Picurís - The church has undergone more than eight years of loving restoration at the hands of Picurís Pueblo members, preserving an important part of the pueblo’s history.
San Miguel Mission Chapel - The oldest church still in use in the United States, this simple earth-hue adobe structure in Santa Fe was built in the early 17th century by the Tlaxcalan Indians of Mexico, who came to New Mexico as servants of the Spanish.
Santa Ana Pueblo Mission - This mission church was completed in 1750. One of its main attractions is an early 19th Century retablo.
Santo Domingo Mission - The old Mission Church was one of the largest and finest in New Mexico but was eventually destroyed by flooding of the Rio Grande, despite attempts by the Santo Domingo residents to save it.
Santuario de Chimayó - Believed to be built on sacred earth with miraculous healing powers, the legendary shrine El Santuario de Chimayó, is probably the most visited church in New Mexico.