A national monument since 1907, the Gila Cliff Dwellings are located in the Gila National Wilderness, the nation's first designated wilderness area.
City of Rocks
Columbus
Area Map
Deming
Elephant Butte
Gila Cliff
Dwellings
Lordsburg NM
Santa Rita
Shakespere
Ghost Town
Whitewater
Canyon
White Sands
How to get there!
To reach the cliff dwellings, travel north of Silver City on NM 15 about 44 miles; or, from Deming, take US 180 north 24 miles to the City of Rocks turnoff and continue northeast on NM 61 another 72 miles. Picnicking and camping facilities are available.
What to Find There!
There are walking paths and marked trails through the caves and in the surrounding wilderness. A visitors' center contains displays and artifacts.
History There!
The earliest inhabitants date back to 100-400 A.D. as evidenced by the earliest ruin found -- a penthouse-type structure within the monument. People of this period are referred to as the Mogollon. Remains of later structures can also be
seen that were in the area until about 1000 A.D.
"Cliff dwellers" are Pueblo people who built their homes in natural caves. The cliff dwellings date to the late 1200s and include seven natural caves of which five contain ruins of dwellings with 42 rooms built of stone and mud. These most recent Indian dwellers were hunters and farmers, planting fields along the river and on mesa tops. By the early 1300s, this group migrated on, perhaps due to a prolonged drought. Where they went is unknown.
Later, Nomadic bands of Apache Indians called the dwellings home. And later still, Spanish colonists settled in the area of the monument. The region was acquired by the U.S. from Mexico in 1953 under the Gadsden Purchase which became a part of the New Mexico and Arizona territories.
