Square Tower House - Ruin in Mesa Verde National Park - Mesa Top Loop, USA

Hard to get tour, but we really liked it. Balcony was our favorite of the 3 offered this summer though. Not sure why it is $25 and the other 2 are $8 though. It's 90 minutes instead of 60, but certainly not 3 times better.

Don't miss seeing this while you are visiting Mesa Verde. It's a little bit of a down hill walk; take your time, there is no need to hurry.

I was fortunate enough to get a private, Park Ranger led tour of the Square Tower House and it was incredible. The history of Mesa Verde and these dwellings is fascinating, but almost equally interesting is the work that goes into preserving these sites. Even without the private tour, there is a great lookout spot where you can see the dwelling and I highly recommend.

It’s UNESCO International Day for Monuments and Sites and we are visiting the impressive Square Tower House in Mesa Verde National Park. Square Tower House is one of many cliff dwellings constructed by the Ancestral Puebloans in what is now the American Southwest. At 27 feet, it's the tallest structure in the park. Square Tower House is also notable for its kiva, a round, sunken room used for ceremonies. Unlike most of the ancient kivas found in the region, the kiva at Square Tower House has an intact original clay roof supported by wooden beams. Ancestral Puebloans lived in today’s Four Corners region, where the borders of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico meet at a single point. It's unclear when exactly this culture emerged, but the current consensus is that the Ancestral Puebloans appeared in this area a little more than 3,000 years ago. They're believed to have built the series of cliff dwellings for defensive reasons as various factions competed for scarce resources when the region suffered from a prolonged drought. It's thought that the changing climate eventually became so severe that it likely drove them from the cliff dwellings sometime around 1300 CE, just a century or so after construction began. Today, many of the cliff dwellings have been restored and visitors can view the homes and kivas of the builders.

If you can plan two weeks ahead, it is well worth reserving a ranger-guided tour. You will have an exciting climb down, and a close-up look at a well-preserved ruin.

A short hike leads to the overlook where you get a dramatic view of Square Tower House from a cliff opposite the ruin. The afternoon light was perfect for enjoying the view.

There's a real possibility that this site will be closed to the public before too many years. A challenging descent from the rim using ropes and ladders. Don't sign up if you are uncomfortable with heights. A sacred and special place.

I got there almost at the sunset after a heavy thunderstorm, the lighting was perfect on the Square Tower House!