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The moon above white gypsum dunes at White Sands shortly before sunset

Sample journey · 8–10 days

New Mexico light, from Santa Fe to the white dunes

Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Bandelier, Abiquiú, Taos, the High Road & White Sands

Photo: John Fowler / Unsplash

Illustrative journey ideas — not bookable packages. No prices, dates or accommodation are implied.

The American south-west is usually known through the canyons of Utah and Arizona. New Mexico is different: what matters here is not the scale of the rock but the light, the colour and the layers of cultures living side by side in this high desert. The Pueblo peoples were here long before the Spanish arrived; the descendants of Spanish settlers still keep their churches and crafts in the mountain valleys; and twentieth-century artists, Georgia O'Keeffe among them, came looking for light and stayed for good.

The route is slow: three nights in Santa Fe with its galleries and museums, the cliff dwellings of Bandelier, the red cliffs of Abiquiú, Taos and the High Road through Spanish villages, and finally the gypsum dunes of the south. Most drives take two or three hours, and the stays are in welcoming adobe houses with fireplaces and courtyards. The journey suits couples drawn to art, history and food, because New Mexican cooking, with its red and green chile, is a chapter of the trip in itself.

The route

The journey

  1. Albuquerque
  2. Santa Fe
  3. Bandelier
  4. Abiquiú & Ghost Ranch
  5. Taos & Taos Pueblo
  6. The High Road
  7. White Sands
  8. Albuquerque
  1. Colourful hot-air balloons rising into a blue sky during the balloon fiesta in Albuquerque

    01Days 1–2 · Albuquerque

    An introduction to the Pueblo world

    After the flight, one night in Albuquerque, on the Rio Grande beneath the rose-coloured Sandia Mountains. The next morning is best begun at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, run by New Mexico's nineteen Pueblos: a museum, dances at weekends and an account, in their own words, of communities you'll visit later. Then a short walk around Old Town and the eighteenth-century San Felipe de Neri church, or Petroglyph National Monument, where thousands of images are carved into volcanic rock. In early October the city holds its balloon fiesta, when hundreds of balloons rise at dawn; if you travel then, it's worth the early start, though rooms are taken very early. After lunch, about an hour north to Santa Fe.

  2. The facade of the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi in central Santa Fe

    02Days 2–5 · Santa Fe

    The adobe city and its art

    Three nights in Santa Fe, one of the oldest state capitals in the USA, at nearly 2,200 m. The town is easily explored on foot: the plaza and the Palace of the Governors, beneath whose portal Pueblo and other Native artists sell their own jewellery and pottery, the Cathedral Basilica of St Francis of Assisi, and narrow lanes of adobe houses. On the second day, the galleries of Canyon Road and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, then an afternoon on Museum Hill, where the Museum of International Folk Art holds toys, masks and textiles from across the world. The third day can be slow: the Saturday farmers' market in the Railyard district, a cooking class with New Mexican chile, or simply an afternoon in a courtyard. Evenings are quiet, and after sunset the sky over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains turns colours that explain why so many painters stayed.

  3. A red and pale sandstone cliff above desert scrub at Ghost Ranch, New Mexico

    03Days 5–6 · Bandelier & Abiquiú

    Cliff dwellings and O'Keeffe country

    About an hour west lies Bandelier National Monument, where dwellings carved by Ancestral Pueblo people survive in the walls of Frijoles Canyon. Wooden ladders lead up into some of them, and the trail passes a round kiva and the ruins of a village on the canyon floor. Today's Pueblos, among them Cochiti and San Ildefonso, regard this as the land of their ancestors, so we walk it with respect. In the afternoon, north into the Chama valley and Abiquiú, where red, yellow and white cliffs look like the background of an O'Keeffe painting, because they were. One night here, somewhere quiet beneath Pedernal. In the morning, a tour of O'Keeffe's home and studio in Abiquiú village (places must be reserved ahead) and a walk on the Ghost Ranch trails among the cliffs she painted for decades.

  4. The Rio Grande in its deep gorge between volcanic walls near Taos, seen from the bridge

    04Days 6–8 · Taos & the High Road

    A pueblo beneath the mountain and villages above the valley

    About an hour and a half along the Rio Grande to Taos and two nights here. Taos Pueblo, multi-storey adobe homes beneath Taos Mountain, lived in for around a thousand years, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We visit with a Pueblo guide and on the community's terms: some areas are closed to visitors, people are not photographed without permission, and during ceremonies the pueblo closes altogether. In the afternoon, the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, hanging more than 180 m above the river, and the town's galleries. On the day you leave, the High Road south: the eighteenth-century church at Las Trampas, the village of Truchas on its ridge above the valley, weavers' workshops and the sanctuary at Chimayó, where pilgrims walk every year. Descendants of Spanish settlers have lived in these villages for generations, so we go as guests. By evening, Albuquerque and one night before the road south.

  5. A yucca standing among the white gypsum dunes of White Sands National Park

    05Days 9–10 · White Sands

    Dunes as white as snow

    The longest day of the journey: about four hours south through the Tularosa Basin. In winter it's worth stopping at Bosque del Apache, where thousands of sandhill cranes and geese often spend the season. In the afternoon, White Sands National Park: the world's largest field of gypsum dunes, whose sand stays cool underfoot even in the heat. You can walk the dunes on marked trails or slide down them on sledges, and at sunset the dunes turn pink and violet. A night nearby, then an early return to the dunes while they are still quiet and the animal tracks are fresh. The neighbouring missile range sometimes holds tests, when the road and park close for a few hours, so the timing stays flexible. Then about three and a half hours back to Albuquerque, or an hour and a half to El Paso, and the flight home.

Experience highlights

  1. 01

    Santa Fe's plaza and galleries

    Native artists beneath the portal of the Palace of the Governors, Canyon Road and the O'Keeffe Museum.

  2. 02

    Abiquiú & Ghost Ranch

    The painter's home and the cliffs she painted, with one quiet night at their foot.

  3. 03

    Taos Pueblo

    A settlement lived in for around a thousand years, visited with a Pueblo guide and on the community's terms.

  4. 04

    Morning on the white dunes

    Sunset and an early morning in the world's largest field of gypsum dunes.

First, we listen. Then, we explore what's possible.

Make it your own

  • A shorter version

    In eight days the journey can end in Taos and return to Albuquerque by the High Road, leaving White Sands for another time.

  • For couples

    A longer stay in Santa Fe, a night by hot springs in the mountains and dinners with local wine: New Mexico has the oldest winemaking tradition in the USA.

  • By season

    In September and October the air smells of roasting green chile and the aspens turn gold in the mountains; in winter Santa Fe and Taos are snowy and quiet, and in spring windy and bright.

  • With the canyons of Utah and Arizona

    From Abiquiú or Taos the journey can continue west via Chaco Canyon and Navajo lands to Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon.

Practical considerations

  • The best time is spring and autumn (roughly April–May and September–October). Summer is hot in the south, and in July and August afternoon thunderstorms are common; in winter there is snow in the north, but the days are usually sunny.
  • Santa Fe and Taos sit at 2,000–2,200 m: many people feel tired for the first days, so we plan the start more gently and drink more water than usual.
  • The Pueblos are sovereign communities with their own rules: visiting hours, photography and ceremonial days change, so we always check them before travel and visit only with local guides.
  • The journey is planned as a self-drive; the longest day is the one to White Sands. We check possible road and park closures for missile-range tests before setting off.

General guidance only. Seasons, weather and wildlife are never guaranteed, and travel requirements are always worth checking before you go.

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