Taos Pueblo · Taos Gorge Bridge · Martinez Hacienda ·
San Francisco de Asis Church · Chimayo Trading Del Norte
After gathering at our Travel Hub located inside the culturally inspired El Monte Sagrado Resort, you will head north taking in the views of Taos Mountain, Taos Pueblo lands, fields dotted with sunflowers and black cows, and an array of local studio galleries.
At Taos Pueblo we will be met by our Tribal Member Guide for an insightful and culturally sensitive tour of this World Heritage Site by Unesco. The Pueblo is a living community dating back over a thousand years and many of the traditions and original structures are still intact. You will never forget the visual and emotional power of the tiered Puebloan Style architecture, the beauty of the valley, and the integrity of its people.
After our Pueblo visit we head north. Quickly the landscape becomes more dramatic, with the blue-silver tones of high desert mesa Chamisa, distant views of the flat top mountain Pedernal, and vanishing swatches of walking rain that reach all the way down into the Rio Grande Valley. Soon you will cross the country’s second highest suspension bridge (1965) reaching over a ribbon of rose hued canyon walls and emerald water. Herds of mountain sheep call this place home, ravens and red tailed hawks trace invisible air currents, and cliff swallows bravely swoop from cliff band to cliff band.
Not too far away is the Hacienda de los Martinez, (approx. 1804 AD). This historical family home with central courtyards will transport you back in time. The home, now a living museum, features important Santos (religious painted carving of saints, original adobe structures, and hand dyed weavings and looms.) The Hacienda’s interior is white washed with Tierra Blanca, a mixture of micaceous clay and wheat paste, and the dirt floors glisten with the hardened gloss of ox blood. You will leave with a visceral connection to the Spanish Colonial Era of the 1800s.
We will then head to the San Francisco de Assis Church (1700’s). Rising up from the earth like a ship on the ocean, this adobe parish has inspired artists throughout time, including Ansel Adam and Georgia O’Keeffe, and has been argued the most depicted Church in the world. The organic shapes of the building are articulated by seven foot deep buttresses and bee hive shaped anchor supports. Also housed at San Francisco de Assis is the mysterious portrait of Christ, the painting changes in the dark when a cross emerges.
Afterwards we will return to El Monte Sagrado Resort. Our guided tour will leave you with an effortless joy and appreciation for Taos’ many cultures. Visions of adobe sanctuaries, artisan jewelry, mysterious paintings and wild beauty will lift your spirit and ground your soul.
Return to El Monte Sagrado Resort & Spa.
