Verde Valley AZ National Monuments

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Besides the Verde Canyon Railroad and some wineries, Arizona’s Verde Valley has two well-known National Monuments – Tuzigoot and Montezuma Castle We were able to visit both from our apartment in Sedona.

Tuzigoot National Monument

Overlooking the fertile Valley, it contains the remains of the best preserved early pueblo (village) built and inhabited by Sinagua (“waterless”) Indians. It had 110 rooms on three levels, and its summit was 120 ft (36m) above the Verde River flood plain. The Sinagua were farmers with trade connections spanning hundreds of miles, who built several such settlements, starting around 1000 A.D. Built up progressively over a 400-year period, Tuzigoot became quite large by the late 1300s. The inhabitants left the area around 1400, but nobody knows why it was abandoned, like other Sinagua settlements in the Southwest. Today it is a popular place for self-guided tours, with moderate admission fees, and volunteers who proudly explain its origin.

Montezuma Castle National Monument

It was mistakenly named by early discoverers, but it had nothing to do with the famous Aztec ruler in Mexico. It was a multi-story apartment pueblo carved right out of, and into, a mountain near what is now the small town of Camp Verde. After its discovery “The Castle” quickly became a destination for America's first traveling tourists. In 1933, "Castle A", a nearby 45-50 room pueblo was also partly excavated, uncovering many more artifacts that greatly enhanced our knowledge of the Sinagua people who inhabited this valley for over 400 years.

Early visitors to the monument were allowed access to the structure by climbing a series of ladders up the side of the limestone cliffs. However, due to extensive damage to this valuable cultural landmark, public access of the ruins was discontinued in 1951. Now, approximately 350,000 people a year tour the Castle grounds, getting most of their knowledge from numerous signs and plaques around the grounds.

Like everyone else we were left wondering WHY the Sinaguas, like the Mayas and probably others in Mexico and the Southwest suddenly abandoned the settlements that they had built and occupied over centuries. They left no literature, so I guess we’ll never know: do you have any theories?

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