查科文化国家历史公园

这是新墨西哥州北部一块隐藏的宝石。如果要去盖洛普,阿尔伯克基或附近的什么地方的话,可能需要一天。有一些印第安人的村庄遗迹保留得很完整(在公元850--1250年间被占领),你可以在这些村庄里散步。如果你喜欢闲逛的话,不要让道路影响了你的脚步,有些路不太好走,但还是希望你能到达你的终点。要记得参加旅行团--因为跟着旅行团,你就能了解很多古老的文明,也能了解古普埃布洛印地安人的后裔。(Zuni, Hopi, Zia, Acoma, Mesa Verde, Laguna......)不要只参观博尼托镇的主废墟--去逛一下,参观一下其他的景点--注意这些废墟的不同点。请记住不要带走什么东西,但一定要拍一些照片,但是记得不要走在墙边。十年之后,我希望能带我孙子孙女来这里参观。

从阿尔布开克开车到查科文化国家历史公园要3个小时,中间有25公里路是那种灰尘满天的烂路,不过还好,这个公园让我们觉得没有枉费这么多辛苦。游客中心总是在翻修,不过幸好它很小,还不足以影响整个公园的美观。那些遗址、那些历史、以及灌注在建筑中的那些伟大的思想,虽然没有高科技,不过还是让我们觉得印象深刻,虽然无法爬到山顶去看,不过我们还是觉得Fajata Butte那里的日晷很壮观。这个公园非常安静,连一根针掉在地上都能听见。最好请一个巡逻向导,因为有些有趣的历史知识,你自己去看是怎么也看不到的。

去查科文化国家历史公园的那条路很脏很陡,牙齿都陡痛了,但是这个地方绝对值得你受那点苦的。从北边进,那条路相对来说比较好。露营:露营地是先来先得,所以我进去的第一站就是去Gallo露营地。天气热的时候你一走进露营地就会觉得很舒服,因为里面很凉快,露营地里的卫生间是可以冲水的,水是冷的。要喝热水或者洗热水澡的话,就要去游客中心。这个露营地没有多少可以乘凉的地方。露营地里面有火架子,可以去那里搞烧烤,但是要自己带木柴哦,不能在露营地里面或周面捡木柴的。徒步:Pueblo Alto那条线超适合徒步。刚开始的时候是上坡,有点难走,不过可以看到大峡谷的漂亮风景,接着视野越来越开阔,沿着荒漠走了一段之后又来到了修建在光滑的岩石块上的Jackson楼梯道,走在那些梯步上的时候,你可以想象一下1000多年前生活在这里的人当初是怎么上上下下的。 花点时间在路旁的石冢里面堆几块石头。在峡谷顶,你可以看到整个查科考古遗址和杰德罗·柯特尔遗址。当然,也不是一定要徒步走这条线路啦,只不过如果你不走的话,就无法彻底的了解查科考古遗址的方方面面。注意:多带点水,一个人至少要带两升,带点小吃,要穿徒步鞋,要擦防晒霜,还有要带个帽子。整条徒步路线全长8公里多。Gallo露营地:两公里长的峡谷风景徒步路线的起点是露营地,露营地入口左边的那个帐篷就是起点。夜空计划:如果你是4月到10月去玩的话,星期三、星期五和星期六就可以去查科露营地体验一下查科夜空计划。那些护林员会跟你解释天文学在查科文化中的重要地位,还会让你用游客中心的望远镜看夜空中的星星。

开车要慢一点才能通过。我们都挤在一辆小汽车里,嗯,我想说你应该租一辆轿车。在那条路上开车很慢。我们去的是南面的入口,(那条路更长)我建议你不要从那里走。南入口好像永远没有尽头,会让你灰心丧气,因为你会以为自己走错路了。路上根本没有太多风景。查科是个让人印象深刻的地方,但我想人们喜欢它更多的是因为它比较偏僻吧。我去过美国本土西南部很多地方,听到的都是非常失望的信息。我想是因为缺乏交通,而且去那里的人太高估那些地方了。查科大小很合适。想象一下那里成千上万的人都住在这些房子里......哇。我很喜欢查科,会把它推荐给其他人的,但我会建议人们去那里短暂旅游一天就行了。

我们四个人这个周末相约去了查科公园露营,其中一个人还是坐在轮椅上的。让我们开心的是找到了一间对残疾人来说很方便的厕所,客户中心有冷水和热水供应。这是一间有栏杆的单独休息室,适宜保护那些需要帮助的人的尊严。在法国营地有一个很便利的营地,但我们没有住在那里,而是选择了2个接近营地的地方,在那里我们两队人可以靠在一起露营。我估计在客户中心我可以带着我老公一起去休息室,使用起来非常方便。营地有直通到下一个厕所的水泥路,但是那个厕所里只有冷水,而且水龙头也是手压式的,所以需要不停的压水才会持续不断的流出来。我想有些在轮椅上的人也能使用,但看起来你的手臂必须要能同时做两件事。这里有些地方是限制轮椅进入的,表面是铺上沙砾的,所以在有些地方可能会陷进沙子里去。要推着一个人在这样的路上行走特别困难,而且有些时候根本不可能。我们带着我老公的电动轮椅,所以很少外出,他自己能坐着轮椅去博尼托镇,一路上沿着"大D"走,要避免冲到沙子上去,因为沙子太深所以不能通过。通往大地穴的卡萨林科纳达路非常陡,而且路上有很多障碍物。他可以到普韦布洛德阿罗约路的中途一个比较高的地方,从那里能看到这个地方一部分。如果我们的停车场有"便利的查科向导旅游经历"那对坐轮椅的人来说就太好了,但是放在特殊通道上就非常昂贵了,而且这好像对我们停车来说也没什么好处。我猜他们认为从窗外看就足够了。跟在梅萨维德不一样的是,查科没有发传单来提供一些建议,所以假设你要去那里尝试一下就知道有多艰难了。(提示:我没有说过有什么"便利"设施,因为我还没有找到有什么便利的东西能我们坐着轮椅在那里停车方便一些。)但我们仍然渡过了非常愉快的时光-能去的地方有限对于欣赏这里来说还好得多,因为反之就是什么地方都不能去,这次总体的经历我们还是比较满意的。

Amazing cultural site. Our map was not clear that this was a 28 mile ridged dirty road. Very difficult on your vehicle and very isolated so make sure you have gas and a sturdy and reliable car. Also cell service is non-existent so make sure you have a hard copy of your map or already dialed into your phone.

The structures at Chaco Culture National Historic Park are unsurpassed in the United States. It is in an isolated and barren location in North West New Mexico. The road is long and bumpy to get there. But any vehicle can make it and it is worth the trip.I visited on a tour organized by a Santa Fe professor. We spent the day and his description of the history and insights added layers of perspective and information. However, even a visit without such an expert is more than worthwhile. There are a number of structures on the site and they are in surprisingly good shape. You can walk through many and get a sense of their size and the interconnectedness of the inhabitants. It also makes you wonder how they chose and survived in this desolate location.A stop at this little-visited World Heritage Site provides a greater appreciation of the early settlement history of the continent.

The warnings given for the road conditions leading into the site should be respected. This is not an easy trip, but the experience of seeing the site and the surrounding landscape more than made up for the bumps in the road. Bring water and a wide-brimmed hat. The sun is merciless.

Amazing that 1300 years ago the Pueblo indians created multi-story structures for communal living in western New Mexico. Many of the local indian cultures revere this place as sacred. Great short hikes with amazing vistas.

We have visited Chaco 4 times. If you are an explorer - this is for you. The roads are teeth rattling rough, but once you make it to the paved road its awesome. So many trails to hike! Vistas are magnificent. Petroglyphs are fascinating. Make sure you bring your own food and water. Take it slow on the hard, washboard road! I mean it! Go slow!

This is one of the most amazing ruin sites in the entire United States. It is an absolute must. We hiked and explored all day and then saw a bunny, a coyote and even a lizard since it was a warmish day for January. It is very well maintained but be aware of the long drive to get into the park on a dirt road. Have a good map of the area so you can easily find your way out at the end. It is almost too much for one day but if you do have one day go for it. The petroglyphs are super cool and the exposed wooden beams are a treat. The best part for me was how close you can get to everything. In this way it was for me more amazing that Mesa Verde. Have fun!

Chaco Canyon is an ancient Anasazi site that is a very sacred site. Please honor the sacredness of it. Going to the sites and getting into a quiet, meditative state is a good way to really understand the significance of this area.It is a great place to camp out. Look for the large boulder that is shaped like a raven just above the camp area.

Great site to visit. Ruins are spectacular and there are some petroglyphs (carvings in the rocks) left by the indians. Not a real good place for the handicapped as there was a lot of walking to see it all, they could see it from a distance however. Be sure to take water.

This is an incredible monument of precolumbianic culture. It needs at least 1 day, one should have enough time to do the ranger guided walks and to search for the petroglyphs and allwissend imagination to reconstruct a lively and beautiful native American metropolis in this arid environment. The dirt road leading to it is at least for European greenhorns a beautiful adventure and requires adequate tires/driving skills.It's a bit far from everywhere, stay the night before either at Cuba (great great Mexican restaurant there) or in Bloomfield/Farmington.

This is a must see. Having been to Machu Picchu I think this is the closest thing we have in North America. The intricate and expansive structures that you can actually walk through along with the remote setting left us in awe. We spent the night at the campground which was nice in the middle of winter since we were able to stay separate from the two other groups but in spring when its full the sites are right on top of each other. I was far more impressed with the pueblos at Chaco than Mesa Verde. Everything seems a bit too clean and polished at Mesa Verde to the point where its obvious they've reconstructed things. Chaco has had some work done to preserve it but somehow it feels more authentic.