Travel Notes: North America: New Mexico Travel Notes

Also known as the Land of Enchantment, New Mexico uses this in tourist promotion.

The state capital of New Mexico is Santa Fe.

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Albuquerque, Around New Mexico, Carlsbad Caverns, Chaco Culture, Gallup, Map of New Mexico, Native Americans, New Mexico Municipalities, New Mexico Travel Guides, Santa Fe, Taos.

Santa Fe Weather - New Mexico Weather.

Map of New Mexico - with TravelNotes Hotel Guide

Zoom in on the map to travel around the state and find where to stay.

About New Mexico:
Find out more about New Mexico before you travel there. Order tourist brochures and look at where you'd like to stay.

Around New Mexico

New Mexico comes from the Spanish name of Nuevo Mexico; given to the region north of Mexico by a Spanish explorer in the 1560s.

States neighbouring New Mexico are: Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas. New Mexico also borders Mexico.

New Mexico is still a place to explore and meditate upon, a land rich in history with a light that does wonders to nature's palette.

New Mexico State:
The government of New Mexico's block on the information highway.

See New Mexico:
The Department of Tourism's enchanting website; split into five sections for easy navigation.

Southern New Mexico Attractions:
Along with being the centre of commerce and culture in Southern New Mexico, Las Cruces is surrounded by beautiful vistas and abundant wildlife. Close by, are the Organ Mountains, White Sands and the Gila Wilderness. As an added bonus, the region is blessed with sunshine 350 days per year.

New Mexico is a perfect destination for a family ski vacation. Ski or snowboard in sunshine and fresh powder with small liftlines, and rich culture.

Ski New Mexico:
A comprehensive guide to New Mexico's ski areas, including snow reports, trail maps, mountain statistics and directions. Special deals on lift tickets and season passes.

Native Americans

New Mexico honours its Native American and Spanish heritage in many historical sites.

Acoma Pueblo is believed to be the oldest continually occupied settlement in the United States.

Other Native American sites in New Mexico include the Aztec Ruins National Monument, and Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument.

Santa Fe

The wonderful light, pleasant climate, and adobe buildings make Santa Fe a year-round tourist attraction and a popular place with artists.

Situated near the beautiful Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Santa Fe is particularly well known for its Native American and Spanish-style handicrafts.

The Plaza de Santa Fe has been the centre of town since its founding in 1610.

Historical Santa Fe:
The Palace of the Governors was built by the Spanish in 1610 and is the oldest public building in the United States.

Santa Fe's Mission of San Miguel, also dating from 1610, is one of the oldest churches in the country too.

American troops occupied Santa Fe during the Mexican War and New Mexico was ceded to the United States two years later, in 1848.

Bandelier National Monument is 40 miles north-west of Santa Fe, and features amazing Pueblos and cliff dwellings. There are some 50 miles of hiking trails that lead to interesting cave and canyon discoveries.

The Santa Fe Site:
A range of articles about all kinds of subjects relating to Santa Fe.

Santa Fe New Mexican:
Founded in 1849, the Santa Fe New Mexican is the oldest newspaper in the West. As well as the latest news, there's guides to the outdoors, the arts and events of interest to Santa Fe visitors.

Santa Fe Museums

Santa Fe has many museums and private galleries, and is home to the Institute of American Indian Arts.

Santa Fe:
Artists enjoy the warm light of Santa Fe, where many of the buildings seem like an exhibit themselves.

Accommodation in Santa Fe

Hotels in Santa Fe, New Mexico:
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Taos

The Taos area is another favoured retreat of artists and New Agers, after Santa Fe. The many galleries and museums exhibit the results of the Taos inspiration.

Taos Pueblo

Much of the pueblo remains off limits to visitors -- would you want hordes of strangers peering into your home?

If you want to record what you can see, then you have to pay for a camera permit, sketch permit, or painting permit.

For the prices that some of the paintings go for, it's not surprising that a painting permit costs more.

Picuris Pueblo is 20 miles south of Taos, less visited, and more friendly. Things could always change.

Accommodation in Taos

Hotels in Taos, New Mexico:
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Gallup

Gallup is a trading centre for Navajo and Zu�i Native American peoples who live nearby. An annual intertribal ceremonial is also held locally.

Accommodation in Gallup

Hotels in Gallup, New Mexico:
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Chaco Culture

The Chaco Culture National Historical Park, in north- western New Mexico, is a testament to a pueblo culture that thrived in the canyon from AD 50 to 1150.

From the ruins it has been established that there was an extensive irrigation system and road network; parts of which are still visible.

The largest and best-preserved site is Pueblo Bonito, a 10th-century, five-storey building.

Albuquerque

The largest city in New Mexico is more than just a transport hub for people passing through.

Albuquerque is a perfect vacation or convention destination. It boasts world class restaurants, shopping, water and mountain sports and excellent accommodations.

Albuquerque Conventions and Visitors Bureau:
20 First Plaza NW, Suite 601, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Do yourself a favour and make a stop in Albuquerque to discover the Spanish flavour in the Old Town too.

Old Town Albuquerque:
If only more historic locations would have preserved their heritage instead of ripping out the guts of a city for characterless skyscrapers.

Kirkland Air Force Base

The chilling site of the National Atomic Museum is at 20358 Wyoming Blvd., a few miles south-east of downtown Albuquerque.

Nearby are the Sandia Mountains; several Native American pueblos, notably at Coronado State Monument; and Petroglyph State Park, with old Native American and Spanish carvings on lava.

Accommodation in Albuquerque

Hotels in Albuquerque, New Mexico:
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Carlsbad Caverns

The Carlsbad Caverns National Park is in the semiarid foothills of the Guadalupe Mountains in south-eastern New Mexico.

With about 28 miles of explored corridors and chambers, deep below the earth's surface, the caverns are one of the largest and oldest cave systems in the world.

The caverns are believed to have been hollowed out, beginning about 60 million years ago, by the dissolving action of water on limestone.

Carlsbad Caverns:
Established as a national monument in 1923, it became a national park in 1930.

Nearly 1 million bats inhabit the caverns, emerging nightly from May to October in search of insects.

New Mexico Municipalities