Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde National Park

Phenomenal indigenous cave dwelling inside Mesa Verde National Park. Must be on a ranger lead tour to visit up close. Can view from a distance on Mesa Loop drive. Only about quarter mile. But very steep hike with several ladders. Site itself is an amazing feat of architecture. Ranger presentation was great. Highly recommended.

Beautiful!! Incredible place to visit. The tour was a little flat compared to others we took at Mesa Verde but the site made up for it. Incredible visit. You have to be amazed at what people could accomplish a thousand plus years ago without any modern tools and getting the building materials up the side of a cliff. Amazing.

Imagine an archaeological site in an impossible gravity-defying location. Unbelievable! And in such great condition. We took the $10 pre-booked tour down the cliff face via narrow stairs and passages to see the site up close. The view from the overlook / view deck is good enough however, so if you forgot to buy tickets, all is not lost. Highly recommend a visit to this unique and impressive site. Don’t miss it!

The photos and videos don't do this Cliff Palace justice! You have to see it in person. The rangers say the trip down is strenuous but, and I mean no offense, that's more a warning to those with bad hips and knees. If you can climb a stairs and a sturdy ladder then you'll do just fine.

This is one of the most unique places in America and shows the ingenuity of ancient people. You need to get tickets in advance and its ranger lead, but this is one place you really should visit. Once you are down and the ranger has given a briefing, you can take your time and really experience the place. Its not until you get down to the palace you see how amazing it is. The fun part is getting back out up the ladders :-) To think when this was built, the architecture and skill that went in to the structures is incredible. We spent ages down here taking in the scenery and marvelling at the construction. These are some of the oldest houses in America. Definitely recommend doing this and its an easy weekend for the family from Denver or Colorado Springs. There are also lots of other things in the area and cheap hotels like Hampton Inn in Cortez, where we stayed.