800-Year-Old Sinagua Cliff Dwellings: Palatki, Honanki, Tuzigoot & Montezuma Castle

Between 1100 and 1400 AD, the Verde Valley and the red-rock canyons of Sedona were home to a pre-Columbian farming culture known as the Southern Sinagua (from the Spanish Sierra Sin Agua, 'Mountains Without Water', ancestors of the Hopi, Zuni and Yavapai-Apache Nations). Because dry sandstone and limestone alcoves shielded their stone-and-mortar walls for eight centuries, you can visit four intact cliff-dwelling and hilltop pueblo sites within 30 minutes of Sedona.

1. Inside Sedona's Red Rocks: Palatki Heritage Site & Honanki

At the base of the crimson cliffs northwest of West Sedona (via Boynton Pass Road and a two-mile graded gravel road suitable for standard cars in dry weather) sit the two largest cliff dwellings in Red Rock country:

• Palatki Heritage Site (Open Daily, Red Rock Pass or America the Beautiful Pass): because only small groups are allowed beneath the alcoves at once, call the Palatki Visitor Centre a few days ahead at (928) 282-3854 to reserve a free timed guided slot. Three short 800-metre trails lead to the two-storey Sinagua Cliff Dwelling, a canyon overlook, and the Grotto Pictograph Alcove, where Archaic, Sinagua and Yavapai-Apache artists painted hundreds of symbols over 5,000 years.
• Honanki ('Bear House', 4 Miles Further down rougher FR 525): a 60-room cliff alcove requiring high-clearance vehicles but no advance reservation.

2. Easy Paved Access off I-17: Montezuma Castle & Tuzigoot National Monuments

Driving between Phoenix and Sedona on I-17 or heading toward Cottonwood? Stop at these two US National Monuments (covered by a combined ticket or your National Parks Pass):

1. Montezuma Castle National Monument (Exit 289 off I-17, 25 Mins South of Sedona): the Sinagua built this remarkable five-storey, 20-room cliff complex 27 metres (90 feet) up a vertical white limestone cliff above Beaver Creek in the 1100s. It is a flat five-minute walk from the car park, and free-entry Montezuma Well sits 15 minutes north.
2. Tuzigoot National Monument (In Clarkdale near Jerome): a 110-room hilltop stone pueblo with a roof terrace overlooking the Verde River.