First Cavate Pueblo Loop Trail Stop 11

First Cavate with Ladder

NPS

Quick Facts

Amenities

2 listed

Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot

You have arrived at the first of three ladders you can climb into cavates (CAVE-eights), human excavated openings. Although sometimes used for housing, the main purpose of cavates was often food storage. Remember the Ancestral Pueblo people lived here for over 400 years and their lives would have evolved and changed over time just like ours do. Why did they leave? No one really knows but when they left, they didn’t move far. Cochiti Pueblo, about 20 miles south of Bandelier, is the most closely related modern pueblo to the people who lived in Frijoles Canyon.