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Trafalgar - Southwest Native Trails End Santa Fe with Balloon Fiesta (10/2023 - 10/2023) (DPTBSN18)

12 Days From Albuquerque to Santa Fe (NM)
Tour Style: Regional Explorer
Trafalgar Brochure Price from $4,005.00
Brochures: USA Canada and Central America 2023
Visits: United States

This complete immersion in Native American heritage will delight anyone who is interested in this rare opportunity to delve deeper into the captivating culture, traditions and history of the Ancestral Puebloans who once thrived in America's Southwest landscapes. This itinerary will include the Albuquerque Balloon Festival, the largest hot air balloon festival in the U.S., and end in Santa Fe.
Choice Highlights

Must-see Highlights
  • : Explore Pueblo Bonito "Great House" and the North Rim scenic drive with a Local Specialist
  • : Visit Petroglyph National Monument, Acoma Pueblo, Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, Hovenweep National Monument, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Monument Valley Tribal Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Durango, Taos Pueblo, Santa Fe, Tesuque Pueblo, Bandelier National Monument
  • : View Square Tower Unit at Hovenweep, Chaco Canyon's White House, Bandelier National Monument
  • : Scenic Drive along Colorado's Trail of the Ancients National Scenic Byway

MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®
  • Albuquerque: Journey to the beautiful Sky City Cultural Center and Haak'u Museum in the pristine Acoma Valley. With a focus on the preservation of Puebloan culture and insight into Acoma's living history and culture. The Haak’u Museum exhibits art by renowned Native American artists and helps to revitalize lost Pueblo art forms. Then board private vehicles with a Native Acoma Local Specialist residents, for a private guided visit of Acoma Pueblo, a National Registered Historical Landmark, and one of the oldest continuously occupied communities in what is now the United States.
  • Chaco Canyon National Historic Park: Stop at the Chaco Culture National Historical Park Visitor Center, and enjoy a picnic lunch with a Local Specialist.
  • Canyon De Chelly National Monument: Meet a Navajo Local Specialist and take 6X6 vehicles to the bottom of Canyon De Chelly for the most incredible natural sites.
  • Monument Valley: Make Travel Matter on a journey through the desert to Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park, where you will board all-terrain vehicles to explore the valley with your Navajo guide.
  • Mesa Verde: Visit the Canyons of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum, Southwest Colorado's leading archaeological museum, displaying exhibits on archaeology, local history and Native American cultures.
  • Santa Fe: Meet Emigdio Ballon the agricultural director at the Tesuque Pueblo Community Farm. Learn about this Indigenous community and their efforts to achieve food sovereighty by preserving heirloom seeds and by growing their own food.

Trafalgar Difference
  • Gallup: Your Stay with Story is the historic home to many starlets from the 'Western" genres of the 1930's - 40s.
  • Durango: Stay at The Strater Hotel, adorned with beautiful handcrafted woodwork, housing the largest collection of American Victorian walnut antiques. It's Durango's Historic Landmark Hotel, showcasing stories of the old west and mining times.

Iconic Experience
  • Taos: Experience Taos Plaza, a Historical Landmark and artist colony in the heart of the Taos Historic District, home of 65 galleries, shops, restaurants, and 21 landmarks.

Dive Into Culture
  • Taos: Visit Chimayo Sanctuary nestled on the Sangre de Cristo mountains along the high road to Taos. This little adobe Sanctuary is considered one of the most important pilgrimage site in the United States. Later, stop by Trujillo's weaving shop where the Chimayo tradition of weaving that dates to the Spanish Colonial times is on display. The Trujillo's have been weavers for eight generations.

Be My Guest
  • Santa Fe: Enjoy a traditional feast day meal at the Robinson Property prepared by elders, including traditional stews and deserts.

Trafalgar Tour Itinerary

Day 1Kick Start Your Trip At Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta
You're in for a wild time at Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta. Explore Old Town Albuquerque if you like before meeting your Travel Director and fellow travellers.
Visits: Albuquerque
Meals: Dinner
Accommodation: Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown
Day 2Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta
This morning gaze upwards as hundreds of colourful balloons take to the sky. This evening, attend the exclusive and private Chasers' Club to view the mesmerizing Balloon Glow. Afterwards, join your fellow travellers and Travel Director for a Welcome Reception.
Visits: Albuquerque
Meals: Breakfast, Welcome Reception
Accommodation: Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown
Day 3Uncover The History Of Acoma Pueblo Make Travel Matter
Trace centuries-old stories etched in stone by Ancestral Puebloan peoples and early Spanish settlers at the Petroglyph National Monument in this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Continue to Acoma Sky City Cultural Center & Haak'u Museum for a guided insight into one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in the United States. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy at leisure.
Visits: Acoma Pueblo
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown
Day 4Explore Chaco Canyon Stays With Stories Make Travel Matter
You’ll love this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®  Experience along your Southwest Journey as you visit the Chaco Canyon inside Chaco Culture National Historical Park. Head on a field trip with your Local Specialist to Pueblo Bonito, an important “Great House” in modern day culture. This evening you will have dinner on historic Route 66 (Should weather conditions render the dirt road to Chaco Canyon unsafe, your Travel Director will arrange visits to more accessible destinations of historical and cultural significance.) Tonight, your Stays With Stories is historic El Rancho Hotel, home to many starlets in the 'Westerns' genre during the 1930s - 40s.
Visits: Albuquerque, Gallup
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: El Rancho Hotel
Day 5Delve Into The Legacy Of The Navajo Make Travel Matter
This morning, stop at Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation, where you'll see the Window Rock geologic formation and the World War II Navajo Code Talkers' Memorial and learn how Navajos helped the United States win WWII. Take a step back in time and visit the Hubbell Trading Post National Historical Site, and learn how the Navajo and settlers once traded. Delve into the story of Lorenzo Hubbell, who had a major influence on Navajo rug weaving and silversmithing. After a visit to the Canyon de Chelly Visitor Center, meet your certified Navajo Local Specialist and board your 6X6 vehicle to marvel at the stunning scenery with sandstone cliffs, canyons, and beautiful artwork in the forms of pictographs, petroglyphs and ruins in this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience.
Visits: Gallup
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodation: Holiday Inn Canyon de Chelly
Day 6Marvel At Canyon De Chelly National Monument Make Travel Matter
See an ancient community built into a sandstone cliff as you peer over the edge of the White House Overlook to see the mastery of Ancient Puebloan construction. Watch nature defy gravity when you encounter Spider Rock and hear the legend of the mythical Spider Woman who is said to live in this towering stone spire. Enter Monument Valley National Tribal Park, a symbol of the American West with its iconic landscape of enormous rock features, including mesas, cliffs, and buttes made famous as the location for dozens of films stretching back almost a century. Meet your Navajo Local Specialist for a private guided excursion of Monument Valley in this MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®  Experience. Continue deeper into the valley while experiencing the sights of Monument Valley through the eyes of your Navajo guide. Travel along backroads and trails unavailable to the public while learning the history and local culture of the Dineh people. Visit an authentic hogan, the primary, traditional dwelling of the Navajo people. Other traditional structures include the summer shelter, the underground home, and the sweat house.
Visits: Monument Valley, Bluff
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Goulding's Lodge
Day 7Time Hop to Prehistoric Settlements in the Southwest Stays With Stories Make Travel Matter
Head to Hovenweep National Monument, an intriguing prehistoric settlement. As you travel through the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, stop at Southwest Colorado's leading archeological museum at the Canyon of the Ancients Visitor Center for a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience. Then have an insightful viewing of the Ancestral Puebloan archaeological sites at Mesa Verde National Park. From the Chapin Mesa Archaeological Museum, you can see the park's third largest cliff dwelling, Spruce Tree House. This evening your Stays With Stories is at the historic Strater Hotel in Durango.
Visits: Durango
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Strater Hotel, Durango
Day 8Dive Into Durango
Spend your day at leisure and explore the historic town of Durango. Perhaps, enjoy a truly unforgettable step back in time on an optional ride aboard the coal-fired, steam-powered, narrow-gauge train. The train chugs along rails that were originally laid at the end of the 19th century. Winding through a spectacular wilderness which would be inaccessible by car. If you are feeling more adventurous opt for a white water rafting trip on the Animas River.
Visits: Durango
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Strater Hotel, Durango
Day 9Discover Taos Pueblo Dive Into Culture Connect with Locals
Head east this morning through the historic town of  Pagosa Springs surrounded by the rugged San Juan Mountains and vast areas of dense national forest. Make a brief stop in the enchanting village of Chama for photo ops. Continue through Tierra Amarilla and Tres Piedras to arrive at the Rio Gorge, a geological feature where the watercourse of the Rio Grande follows a tectonic chasm. Cap off your morning tour by crossing the Taos Landmark Site of Rio Grande Bridge. Standing roughly 600 feet above the Rio Grande, this steel arch bridge is one of the highest in the United States. Your afternoon Dive Into Culture in charming Taos begins at Taos Plaza, a Historical Landmark an artist colony in the heart of the Taos Historic District, home of 65 galleries, shops, restaurants and 21 landmarks. You will tour Taos Pueblo, a World Heritage Center and National Historic Landmark, with Local Specialists. Connect with Locals who call the Pueblo home learning about these iconic, multi-storied adobe buildings, built roughly 1,000 years ago. A piece of the past in the present, about 150 Puebloans still live within the pueblo full time. You will leave with stories one can only hear from locals.
Visits: Durango, Taos
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Accommodation: Don Fernando De Taos, Tapestry Collection by Hilton
Day 10Uncover the High Road from Taos to Santa Fe Stays With Stories
Start the day by taking the High Road, from Taos to Santa Fe. Along the way, stop at the Chimayo Sanctuary, one of the most important pilgrimage sites in the United States due to the curative powers of the “Tierra Bendita” or “holy dirt”. Next visit Trujillo's weaving shop. You’ll see and learn firsthand how these eighth-generation weavers use one of a kind handwoven techniques. You'll the continue to Bandelier National Monument. Learn about the history of the people that inhabited this area 1,000 years ago. Designated as one of UNESCO's Creative Cities Network, City of Design, and City of Crafts and Folk Art. This evening your Stays With Stories overnight will be at the Inn and Spa at Loretto which you’ll learn sits on the former site of the historic Our Lady of Loretto Academy and is adjacent to the famed Loretto Chapel. Now one of the most photographed buildings in the state, the inn is a Santa Fe icon and testament to the city's modern history.
Visits: Taos, Santa Fe
Meals: Breakfast
Accommodation: Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza
Day 11Savour The Culture Of Santa Fe Make Travel Matter
Enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience that takes you to Allan Houser Sculpture Garden, where you will meet with the museum’s director. The 50-acre property on a private tour with local specialist to see some of his most amazing works surrounded by juniper trees. This afternoon you’ll love this eye-opening MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience where you'll meet Emigdio Ballon, the agricultural director at the Tesuque Pueblo Community Farm. Learn about this Indigenous community and their efforts to achieve food sovereignty by preserving heirloom seeds and growing their own food. Then we make our way to a Nambe Village where you will enjoy a traditional feast day meal at the Robinson Property prepared by elders, which include traditional stews and deserts. Learn more about Nambe culture and enjoy a meal with an active indigenous community located at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains along the Rio Grande River.
Visits: Santa Fe
Meals: Breakfast, Farewell Dinner
Accommodation: Hilton Santa Fe Historic Plaza
Day 12Depart Santa Fe
Say a fond farewell to Santa Fe and make your way to the Santa Fe Airport at your leisure.
Visits: Santa Fe, Albuquerque
Meals: Breakfast


Available Room Types: Single, Triple, Twin, Twinshare
Child: ages 5 to 17

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