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Mesa Verde National Park
Cliff Palace Tour
View of Cliff Palace
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Cliff Palace
 
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Tour around kiva in Cliff Palace

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Tour around a kiva in Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace, at about 150 rooms, is the largest cliff dwelling in the park. A Cliff Palace tour descends approximately 100 feet into the canyon on a steep trail that includes 120 uneven stone steps. During the tour, visitors climb five, eight-foot ladders.

Once you have your tickets, drive to the Cliff Palace parking lot and walk to the overlook to meet the ranger for your scheduled tour.

 
The Cliff Palace tour is strenuous due to the elevation and physical exertion required to visit the dwelling. The tour is not recommended for anyone with heart or respiratory problems. Cliff Palace, like all of the cliff dwellings, is located at approximately 7,000 feet elevation and involves strenuous physical activity.

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Cliff Palace in the snow

Did You Know?
Cliff Palace is the largest cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park. It has 150 rooms, plus an additional 75 open areas. Twenty-one of the rooms are kivas, and 25 to 30 rooms have residential features. The number of Ancestral Puebloans living in Cliff Palace at any one time was 100 to 120.
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Last Updated: July 26, 2007 at 17:43 MST