Site Rules and Tour Etiquette

The Santa Clara Pueblo people are pleased to welcome you to our original ancestral land. Puye Cliff Dwellings is a special place to the Santa Clara Pueblo People. We respectfully ask for all visitors to respect the rules of this special place between earth and sky.

Site Rules

Please, respect the Puye Staff and Tour Guides. All of our Team Members are direct decedents of the people that once occupied Puye. We strive to provide the best quality and experience to all of our guests that visit Puye Cliff Dwellings

• All guests must check in at Gift Shop.
• All artifacts and materials that are on the site must remain in their original location. Please do not take any artifacts or materials from the site.
• No video or audio recordings are allowed. Pictures are allowed.
• Drone photography is prohibited.
• Children and minors who are 18 years of age and younger, are required to be accompanied with an adult (18 years old or older).
• No pets except Service Dogs (Please be prepared to present Service Dog Card at Gift Shop).
• Eating is not allowed anywhere on the ruins, cliff side or mesa top. Designated picnic areas or patio are areas that can be utilized to eat. Water and non-alcoholic beverages are allowed on Tour. Alcoholic beverages, drugs, or substances are NOT allowed anywhere on site.
• No Smoking is allowed on site.
• No Campfires.
• Please remain on the designated trails and self-guided paths.
• All guests must stay with their designated tour guide(s) while on tour.
• No entering of structures unless allowed by guide.
• No pictures allowed in the kiva.
• Puye Cliff Dwellings has the right to deny service or access to any person(s) who do not abide by the rules. If any littering or destructive behavior occurs to any area of the site, guests will be escorted off the premises.
• If allowed by Tour Guide, accesses to the Kiva will be granted. While in kiva we do not allow no picture taking, video, or audio recording.
• Vehicles are NOT allowed to drive to the Mesa Top.

Tour etiquette

Be prepared

Before going on a tour please be prepared to bring your own water. Our gift shop does sell bottled water and other refreshments. Depending on the time of the year, please dress appropriately for your tour. Tours require some mild walking, mild hiking, and depending on your tour selection- minimal climbing. During the summer months the area and site does experience very hot day, we can have days were the temperature goes into the 100’s. During our winter hours we do get some heavy snow fall and can delay tours or cause us to close. Being that we are located in a unique location we do experience cold mountain breezes.  Only access to the mesa top will be in our shuttle service. No vehicles are allowed to drive to the mesa top.

Be respectful

Our tour guides work hard to prepare for tour groups and your visit. Please we ask to not distract your guide when he/she is presenting on the history or answering questions. Our guides want to ensure all of our guest get to hear and obtain the history of the site. They have also the responsibility to assist guests in tricky areas (ladders, natural stair wells, or dips in the mesa) to prevent falls and injuries. If children are in a tour group, parents/guardians are responsible for watching over their children, not the tour guide. Our Tour guide(s) top priority is the safety of all guests, as well as his/hers own safety.

Tour information

Our Tour guides are happy to share and answer any other questions that you have after he/she is done presenting the information. Please do not take it personally if our tour guide(s) do not disclose certain information. Some ceremonial practices, rituals, or common practices of the Pueblo are not allowed to be disclosed.  Puye does allow guest to enter some areas where traditional ceremonies were performed (with guide only). We do ask guests not disturb or vandalize anything in those respected areas.