Several years ago, my husband was driving through the desert and saw a sign for Acoma Pueblo.  It was not open when he came upon it, but he vowed that he would return to visit it one day.  We headed there after leaving Ruidoso on the way to Albuquerque.  Again, it was a lengthy drive, but it was very much worth the time. 

As you get closer to the pueblo, you can see Enchanted Mesa.  It is very impressive.  Our tour guide told us that it was the first choice of her people to inhabit, but a severe thunderstorm trapped people on top and below the mesa. Those who were left settled on the site of the Acoma Pueblo now.  

When you arrive there is a visitor’s center.  You must park there and buy a ticket. They will drive you to the top of the mesa in a shuttle bus.  I would not suggest trying to drive up to the mesa on your own. They have security that will stop you and if you do make it to the top, the roads are very difficult and super easy to get stuck. There was someone stuck when we were up there on our tour.  

The ticket is not cheap.  I believe they were about $30 per person for the complete tour, which I suggest. The shortened tour was half price, but you only got a tour of the church.  Our tour guide was a native whose family has a home in the pueblo, but they do not live there. There is no running water or electricity.  There are only six families who live in the pueblo year round.  Only one family chooses to do so on their own. The other five families are required to live there by the tribe and it switches every year to other families. 

While you are on the tour, there are people who have tables set up outside their family homes with pottery and other art that they have created. The tour guide encouraged us to look closely and not feel bad if we didn’t want to purchase anything. We were not allowed to take pictures of the church or cemetery outside of the church.  You also need to ask permission to take pictures of any tribe members. 

We started at the church.  It was massive.  The tribe was forced to build it using materials from a mountain over 30 miles away.  The altar had the original trees they hauled over.  If these trees touched the ground, they had to return and get new trees because they were not sacred anymore! The guide explained that the tribe blended their religion with that of the Catholic religion.  You can see both religions in the decorations inside the church. 

Walking around the top of the mesa was amazing. The views were breathtaking.  The ground was very uneven.  I don’t know how people drive around without getting stuck or scraping the bottom of their vehicle. 

All members of the tribe convene in the pueblo three times a year for celebrations. The public is also invited to attend.  The main square is where much of the celebration takes place.  I would love to go there when everyone was there.  It would be a very different experience. 

The kivas a bit hidden in the town. They were built square so they could not be detected.  You can spot them by the white ladders.  

I enjoyed chatting with the guide about the tribe, their views on religion, how sacred the mesa was to tribe members, and even how the tribe reacted to LGBTQ people.  She shared with us that she was bisexual herself and that it was not an issue within the tribe unless you were transgender. It sounded like it was a problem for them spiritually in terms of where they belonged.  I did not get the impression that they were shunned, but more like they didn’t know how to handle it. 

We were given the option to climb down the mesa and walk back to the visitor’s center.  The other couple on our tour opted to do just that.  The guide pointed out the “steps” to take down and said it would only take 5-10 minutes, but the walk back to the visitor’s center would take longer.  My husband was interested in climbing down, but not the walk back to the center.  It was quite warm and there were thunderstorms near us. 

If you have a chance to visit the Acoma Pueblo, you should.  It is a unique experience.