This guest post by Rishi Menon and Suchi Ravindran Menon is continuation to part 1,2,3
16. Bandelier National Monument is in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Los Alamos is famous for its national laboratory where the first Atom bomb was designed. Bandelier National Monument has ruins of ancient Anasazi cliff houses and houses of Pueblo People. Plan to spend a whole day there and take trails to see some wonderful excavated sites, rock paintings and Petroglyphs. People have reported bear sightings there, so be careful while taking trails.
Bandelier National Monument Pic: Rishi Menon
17. There are several ladders like this placed in various sites. Apparently, the cliff-dwelling Native Indians who lived in Bandelier in ancient times used these kind of ladders to reach the mesa tops and their homes. It is fun to climb these ladders and check out the cave holes.
Bandelier Pic: Rishi Menon
18. Carlsbad Caverns is a national park in South New Mexico. The caverns have several rooms inside named after the formations and mysteries. The most famous is the Big Room which can be seen taking a 1-mile self guided walking tour. The Big room is considered as the largest known underground chamber in the Western Hemisphere. To reach underground caverns one can either take the elevator to the Big room or take a hike down the natural entrance which is a 750 ft descend. To do the natural entrance hike, one has to be in good shape since it can get quite strenuous, but the hike is worth it since it takes you through some stunning sights and you can also see Mexican Free-Tailed Bats.
Carlsbad Caverns Pic: Rishi Menon
19. White Sands National Monument is in Alamogordo, New Mexico. It has beautiful white sands dunes and visitors can either walk around or go sand boarding. A Sand board is a big round plastic tray on which one can slide down the dunes and this can be picked up from the visitor center. They also offer sunset strolls conducted by a ranger which is very informative. Sunset is also the best time to take beautiful pictures, just watch out for lizards and kit fox.
White Sands Dune Pic: Rishi Menon
20. Roswell is a city in South New Mexico which became famous after the alleged UFO crash in 1947. Alien bodies were known to be discovered at the crash site , but it is still a mystery. No one knows if it is true. There is a museum dedicated to the UFO and the aliens and they have newspaper clippings and witness recounts to prove it was true. Worth a visit.
Roswell Pic: Rishi MenonLooking for Vacation Rentals in New Mexico?
