To reach the most beautifully sited village, leave US-84 at Pojoaque , twelve miles north of Santa Fe, and head east, uphill, for five miles. Apart from a large kiva , not much remains in NAMBE PUEBLO 's old plaza area, but the triple-decker Nambe Falls , another four miles on, are well worth seeing (April, May & Oct daily 7am-7pm; June-Sept daily 6am-9pm; $4). There's riverside camping below the falls ($20).
The main reason to visit SANTA CLARA PUEBLO - five miles west of the largest town along US-84, Española, which is itself five miles north of Pojoaque -is to see the ancestral home of its people: the dramatic PUYÉ CLIFF DWELLINGS in Santa Clara Canyon, an eleven-mile drive on paved roads west of the pueblo (April-Sept daily 8am-8pm; Oct-March daily 9am-4.30pm; $5, or $7 for a guided tour, summer Mon-Fri 9am).
Like the similar ruins at Bandelier, the ancient community of Puyé was set against the south-facing cliffs at the edge of the Pajarito Plateau and was occupied between 1250 and 1550. Two tiers of "apartments" were hollowed into the upper canyon wall, while a large freestanding pueblo occupied the mesa-top just above. The trail up from the visitor center is easy at first, but eventually involves climbing at least one steep ladder, plus some deeply worn "staircases" in the rock. What seem like cozy little cave dwellings were originally interior rooms in larger complexes; each was fronted by several adobe-walled rooms, as the countless holes that once supported roof-beams now testify.
If you're reluctant to tear yourself away from this gorgeous spot, a café in the visitor center serves snacks on weekdays, and it's even possible to camp six miles further along Santa Clara Canyon (April-Oct; tel 505/753-7326; $8).
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