Sky City is an interesting place to visit, one of the oldest inhabited places in the United States. You might like to have information so you can consider visiting this wonderful place on your next vacation in New Mexico
Acoma Pueblo at Sky City is located almost eighty miles west of Albuquerque traveling on Interstate 40 then twelve miles south to the Enchanted Mesa. The location of the Sky City is just beautiful as it can be seen from a distance on top of a mesa with perpendicular cliffs that are three hundred fifty feet in height. When you approach the mesa you will see a Visitor's Center that has a museum with artifacts of the Acoma people. This museum is free of charge and there is also a gift shop and a snack bar in the building. You may buy tickets to travel to the top of the mesa to see the ancient pueblo dwellings, the graveyard and the church. There is a winding trail that you may walk down from the mesa after the tour.
One of Acoma's young women will be your tour guide for the approximately hour tour of the mesa. She will explain the customs and traditions of the Acoma Indians in detail as you walk on the tour. The Acoma Indians will be selling their arts and crafts from their homes in the pueblo.
There are some who live on top of the mesa even today without the benefit of modern conveniences. The young Acoma lady will explain how the pueblo dwellings were built and tell of life in ancient times. This pueblo is the oldest inhabited settlement in the entire United States.
It is said that the pueblo was standing in l539 and perhaps years before.
During good weather the Acoma craftsman set up their tables and booths to sell their crafts and you can walk around and buy items right outside the museum. In the snack bar you can buy Navajo fry bread, Navajo tacos and Acoma bread. Acoma bread is baked in adobe ovens by most and is such a delicious and satisfying bread. Naturally, one can buy the modern day soda pop, chips, hamburgers, fries, etc.
The San Esteban Rey Mission at Acoma still stands on top of the mesa. In 1629 the first church was built on the mesa by the first permanent missionary, Fray Juan Ramirez. There was a rebellion of l680 and Fray Juan Ramirez was murdered. There are rumors and stories to the effect that the original church was destroyed in 1680 but others say it was only remodeled. The completed church today is the same since as in 1699. This remarkable church is one of the finest of all missions of the ancient world. The state museum at Santa Fe was modeled after the San Esteban Rey Mission at Acoma. In l9l5 at the Panama Pacific Exposition this church was a model of the architecture of New Mexico. The church is a miracle in that the timbers on the roof are forty feet long and a foot square. The Acoma men carried each one from the San Mateo Mountains over twenty long miles away. The church is built of Adobe being forty feet wide and one hundred and fifty feet long. It is made of smooth native rock that was carried up the winding trail from the plains below as there were no building materials available on top of the mesa. The Stations of the Cross are represented in the Church and the altar and the entire church is beautiful and makes one feel very humble when entering this ancient mission.
Outside the church on top of the mesa there is a graveyard that is unlike any other in the entire world. To bury the dead the Acoma Indians who had been converted carried earth up the winding trail to be able to have a burial ground. This is barren rock so the earth had to be packed on top of the rock. There is a retaining wall that is nearly fifty feet high at the outer portion and makes a square measuring two hundred feet in diameter.
The winding trail to the ancient pueblo village, mission and graveyard is called "El Camino del Padre." In 1629 Father Ramirez climbed to the top with enemies shooting arrows toward him and the sheltering cliff saved his life. There is a story that another priest leaped over the side to escape the Acoma Indians who did not like his religion and that he used an umbrella as a parachute.
In l540 Captain Hernando de Alvarado of coronado's army discovered the pueblo and called it Acuco. At this time the Acoma Indian tribe were warriors and did not like the Spanish entering their territory. Captain Hernando de Alvarado entered the pueblo anyway very forceful. Antonio de Espejo, another conquistador came in 1583 and was impressed with the trail the Acoma Indians had cut out of the solid rock to be able to reach the top.
There are very few Acoma Indians living today on top of the mesa as most live in the village of Acoma fifteen miles away. The Acoma Indians of today are very educated and live with their native traditions, still make their native crafts and some speak the language of the Acoma people. You will find them to be very friendly and you will be welcome in their village. The Acoma of today is very different from years ago as they even have a gambling casino and hotel on their reservation. The trip to Sky City to view the ancient pueblo, mission and graveyard are well worth the time as you will bring home many memories of your visit among the Acoma Indians.
