Puebloan Mystery

Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, and Canyon de Chelly

Overview

A thousand years ago, Ancestral Puebloans built elaborate, highly engineered settlements and created rock art of human figures and the heavens. Discover the mystery on a journey that delves deeper into the fascinating story with each stop.

Your guide begins the trip back in time at Mesa Verde National Park, the largest archaeological reserve in the United States, with some of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in the world, including Cliff Palace and Balcony House. Next, far down the gravel road at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico, you explore one of the nation’s richest and least developed archaeological sites, with surprising freedom to wander and explore. Then, at Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona, your Navajo guide shares traditional knowledge and insight on a fascinating daylong, jeep excursion. The following day brings a chance to visit the Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, historical trading headquarters of the Navajo Nation, and still operating as a mercantile.

One of your culminating explorations will be at Acoma Pueblo, a mesatop community that has been occupied for more than 800 years. There, your Acoma guide helps you connect the stories and imagine the span of time that has shaped the people and culture of this exacting place for so long. The adventure culminates in Old Town Albuquerque, rich in Southwest character.

Price From

$5,495 USD
Trip Type

Small Group Adventure
Departure Dates

May 2 - 9, 2026
May 16 - 23, 2026
Sep 19 - 26, 2026
Oct 3 - 10, 2026
Oct 17 - 24, 2026
May 1 - 8, 2027
May 15 - 22, 2027
May 29 - Jun 5, 2027
Sep 18 - 25, 2027
Oct 2 - 9, 2027
Oct 16 - 23, 2027
Mouse over or tap the departure dates to see trip prices.
Duration

8 days / 7 nights
Trip begins/ends
Durango, Colorado / Albuquerque, New Mexico

*Price per person based on double occupancy. Trip price includes all lodging, meals, ground transportation, guide services and activities as described in this itinerary.

Call Toll-Free 800-445-2995

Do you want to customize this trip?

We customize trips all the time! Email us today: [email protected].

Trip Details

Trip Highlights

ancient native american pottery shards southwest

What’s Included? Everything you need, plus everything you want.

Top-notch Guide: Your guide is a seasoned professional with a deep knowledge of Ancestral Puebloan history and an affinity for this area.
Native Perspectives: Explore history, culture, and place with Native American guides along the way.
Off the Beaten Path Adventure: Your opportunities to explore these phenomenal sites with an expert guide make the gravel roads and remote destinations more than worthwhile.
Hiking and Walking: Explore prehistoric ruins, archaeological sites, and the rugged landscape on foot—a truly magical experience.

The Essentials

Puebloan Mystery

Trip Type: Small Group Adventure

Territory: North America

Region: Desert Southwest

Trip Price: From $5,495

Single Supplement: $1,095

On-Trip Airfare: $0

Duration: 8 days/7 nights

Trip Begins/Ends: Durango, Colorado / Albuquerque, New Mexico

Minimum Travelers: 2 travelers

Maximum Travelers: 16 travelers

Select Terms & Conditions

Pricing detailed for this Small Group Adventure is based upon double occupancy. Additional charges for single travelers and any on-trip airfare required for the trip apply. A booking deposit is required to reserve your space. Small Group Adventure pricing includes all lodging, meals (unless otherwise noted), activities, baggage handling, transportation, and guide service. Not included are travel costs to/from gateway cities, guide gratuities, and personal incidentals including, but not limited to, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, alcoholic beverages, and laundry service. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.

Energy Index

No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities

Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration

High Five! – 5-10 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun

Puebloan Mystery

The Energy Index for this trip is “No Sweat”, with “Nice & Active” elements, at elevations ranging from 5,000 to 8,600 feet. Activities include hiking 1 to 3 miles per day, with elevation gain/loss not typically more than 600 feet. Travelers who can hike the minimum end of this range are a good fit for this trip. Contact a Travel Advisor for more details.

Make It Private

Make this trip all yours!

Most all of our Small Group Adventures can be made private to just your traveling troupe. Just give us a call at (800) 445-2995 and tell us that you would like to “make it private”!

Generally, there are two ways to make a small group adventure private. First, you could capture one of our published departure dates for just your group. In order to achieve this, we have to have sufficient space available to create a separate private trip. Second, we could take the details of this itinerary and fashion it for just your group on dates of your choosing. For this, too, we just need to review your interest, group size, and preferred timing in order to create the trip.

In all cases, the process begins with a phone call so give us a ring at (800) 445-2995 and after just a few minutes gathering information, we can set to the task of making your trip a reality!

Trip Highlights
The Essentials
Energy Index
Make It Private

What’s Included? Everything you need, plus everything you want.

Top-notch Guide: Your guide is a seasoned professional with a deep knowledge of Ancestral Puebloan history and an affinity for this area.
Native Perspectives: Explore history, culture, and place with Native American guides along the way.
Off the Beaten Path Adventure: Your opportunities to explore these phenomenal sites with an expert guide make the gravel roads and remote destinations more than worthwhile.
Hiking and Walking: Explore prehistoric ruins, archaeological sites, and the rugged landscape on foot—a truly magical experience.

Puebloan Mystery

Trip Type: Small Group Adventure

Territory: North America

Region: Desert Southwest

Trip Price: From $5,495

Single Supplement: $1,095

On-Trip Airfare: $0

Duration: 8 days/7 nights

Trip Begins/Ends: Durango, Colorado / Albuquerque, New Mexico

Minimum Travelers: 2 travelers

Maximum Travelers: 16 travelers

Select Terms & Conditions

Pricing detailed for this Small Group Adventure is based upon double occupancy. Additional charges for single travelers and any on-trip airfare required for the trip apply. A booking deposit is required to reserve your space. Small Group Adventure pricing includes all lodging, meals (unless otherwise noted), activities, baggage handling, transportation, and guide service. Not included are travel costs to/from gateway cities, guide gratuities, and personal incidentals including, but not limited to, trip cancellation/interruption insurance, alcoholic beverages, and laundry service. Travel with Off the Beaten Path requires agreement to our standard Terms & Conditions.

Energy Index

No Sweat - 1-2 miles of walking or hiking per day, plus easy activities

Nice & Active – 3-6 miles of hiking or walking per day, plus physically active exploration

High Five! – 5-10 miles of hiking per day, plus possible peak bagging or other action-oriented fun

Puebloan Mystery

The Energy Index for this trip is “No Sweat”, with “Nice & Active” elements, at elevations ranging from 5,000 to 8,600 feet. Activities include hiking 1 to 3 miles per day, with elevation gain/loss not typically more than 600 feet. Travelers who can hike the minimum end of this range are a good fit for this trip. Contact a Travel Advisor for more details.

Make this trip all yours!

Most all of our Small Group Adventures can be made private to just your traveling troupe. Just give us a call at (800) 445-2995 and tell us that you would like to “make it private”!

Generally, there are two ways to make a small group adventure private. First, you could capture one of our published departure dates for just your group. In order to achieve this, we have to have sufficient space available to create a separate private trip. Second, we could take the details of this itinerary and fashion it for just your group on dates of your choosing. For this, too, we just need to review your interest, group size, and preferred timing in order to create the trip.

In all cases, the process begins with a phone call so give us a ring at (800) 445-2995 and after just a few minutes gathering information, we can set to the task of making your trip a reality!

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive in Durango, CO

Meet your guide and fellow travelers in Durango for a welcome dinner.

Day 2: Mesa Verde National Park

Less than an hour’s drive from Durango, Mesa Verde National Park offers a spectacular view into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloan people who lived here from about 600 A.D. to 1300 A.D. The park contains some of the best preserved Puebloan ruins in the United States, and our guide introduces us to the mystery of this sophisticated culture. We’ll take some short hikes, if time allows, and tour the Palace House cliff dwelling. We arrive at our hacienda in Farmington in time for a nice dinner.

Day 3: Chaco Culture National Historic Park

We get to Chaco Canyon in time to enjoy a good day’s hiking among the vast ruins of this former hub of the Chacoan people. Through the guide’s deep knowledge and lively stories, you learn about the architectural designs, astronomical building alignments, landscaping, and innovative engineering that created an urban center of spectacular design that was thriving almost 1,000 years ago! We stay deep in the park all day, taking a break for a picnic lunch, and returning to Farmington in the late afternoon.

Day 4: Canyon de Chelly National Monument

This morning we head to Canyon de Chelly, passing through Shiprock deeper into Navajo tribal lands. One of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes of North America, Canyon de Chelly holds remarkably well-preserved architecture, artifacts, and rock art. Revelations and understandings about the ancient peoples of the area weave together with considerations of the modern-day Native peoples living here and the challenges they face. We arrive at our lodging within the National Monument by early afternoon and enjoy a short, rim-side hike before dinner.

Day 5: Canyon de Chelly National Monument

Today the group sets out on an all-day, 4-wheel-drive tour. Navajo guides facilitate the excursion, which runs the entire length of Canyon del Muerto, sharing local and traditional knowledge gained through their historical and geographical connections with the ancient peoples who settled these canyons.

Day 6: Hubbell Trading Post, Window Rock, and El Morro

This day is filled with unique places and experiences. It begins at Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, where people have been trading, in the same building, since 1878. The wooden floor creaks as we browse wares for sale by local Navajos. Another short drive leads to Navajo Tribal Headquarters at Window Rock, Arizona. To finish out the day, a short hike at El Morro National Monument leads us to some petroglyphs and Spanish inscriptions carved in the rocks. This evening in Grants we relax over dinner at a local-favorite steak house.

Day 7: Acoma Pueblo and Albuquerque

Also known as “Sky City,” Acoma Pueblo is built on top of a 367-foot sandstone mesa and is one of the oldest communities in what is now the United States. A member of the community will show us around and share the settlement’s history. We’re in Albuquerque this afternoon, with opportunities to relax or explore Old Town Albuquerque after visiting the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. We celebrate this great, off the beaten path journey with a lovely farewell dinner tonight.

Day 8: Departures home

After breakfast, you transfer a short distance to the Albuquerque airport for flights home.

Request a Trip Brochure Book My Space

Lodging

Strater Hotel

Located in the very heart of Durango, Colorado, the Strater Hotel is a lovely restored and maintained historic hotel that our clients just adore. Perfectly perched in the middle of Durango’s historic downtown, the Strater keeps you in the middle of everything in town, while providing a comfortable retreat in a grand historic setting. No doubt, the Strater Hotel embodies of the best of the Old West!

Casa Blanca Inn

Perched on a bluff overlooking Farmington, New Mexico, this wonderful bed and breakfast property has been our most favored for clients traveling to this area. With its wonderfully landscaped gardens, the inn offers a tremendous sense of peace and respite from the busyness of town. The number of uniquely designed and decorated suites and rooms provide great options for every visitor.

Thunderbird Lodge

The only lodging option located within the boundaries of Canyon de Chelly, Thunderbird Lodge is our most favored option for clients staying in the area. Featuring a number of upgraded rooms, an on-premises restaurant, and a trading post, the lodge is a great option for those traveling to this remote area.

Holiday Inn Express - Grants

In this sparsely developed area, a stay here gets us as close as possible to the Acoma Pueblo, allowing plenty of time to explore the fascinating settlement.

Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town

This beautiful landmark hotel is located on a plaza with 400 years of history and more than 200 shops and galleries. The hotel blends Albuquerque style with Pueblo, Spanish Territorial, and Western cultural influences.