The Five Best Things to do in Española and Los Alamos, NM
Espanola and Los Alamos are two of the most historically significant areas in New Mexico, each in their own way. Without further ado, here is NewMexi.co’s third installment in the Northern New Mexico series.
Chimayo
El Santuario de Chimayo is one of the most important Catholic shrines and pilgrimage sites in the United States and is visited by around 30,000 visitors each year. Even if you’re not visiting on a pilgrimage, this National Historic Landmark is a great place to visit. This sanctuary is split into two parts. The shrine area, based around an location at which a miracle involving a crucifix, and El Pocito, which is a pit filled with clay that is said to have healing powers. The architecture of the Shrine is amazing, with a walled in courtyard and the distinctive towers. For more information on the Santuario de Chimayo, click here.
Chimayo is also well known for its community of weavers and there are several shops where you can purchase rugs and other hand-woven tapestries.
Photo By Karol M, taken from Wikimedia Commons.
Bandelier National Monument
Founded in 1916, Bandelier National Monument preserves some of the homelands of ancestral pueblos. This protected area houses many ancient ruins, petroglyphs and rock paintings from their civilizations. One of the main trails, which goes through Frijoles Canyon, travels through an area with a lot of cliff dwellings. Several of these dwellings are accessible through ladders and stone steps.
Much of Bandelier National Monument is classified as a wilderness area where there are around 70 miles of trails of varying difficulty. Most areas of the park are only accessible by shuttle bus during the summer, and we recommend choosing what trail you’d like to follow before arriving. For more information about Bandelier, click here.
Photo Taken by Daniel Meyer, taken from Wikimedia Commons.
Española Plaza
Espaola, founded by Don Juan de Oñate, was the first permanent settlement in North America founded by Europeans. The Original church, which had since fallen into ruin, was excavated and a replica was later built. Much of the original artwork was recovered, including the Coat of Arms of the original 14 families, and are on display there today.
Frank Bond, who moved to the area during the 1880s, founded the Española Mercantile and helped to turn Española into a modern town. In doing this, he gained a lot of wealth for himself and built a beautiful adobe home that stands as sort of a museum today. Inside, there is generally fine art being displayed and you can see many of the ornate decorations that were done for Frank Bond himself. For more information and a guide to other activities on the Española Plaza, click here.
Photo courtesy of the City of Española
Bradbury Science Museum
Los Alamos is most famous for the Los Alamos National Labs, where nuclear bombs were invented and are researched today. Los Alamos National Labs runs the Bradbury Science Museum to exhibit some of the artifacts of its well-known weapons program and other parts of its more current, non-weapon related work. We recommend the Defense gallery, which highlights the Manhattan project and other facets of nuclear weaponry in the United States, and the Tech Room, which is a very interactive section where you can learn about climate change and the Mars Rover, which was also created at Los Alamos National Labs. For more information, click here.
Photo Courtesy of Los Alamos National Laboratory
Georgia O’Keeffe Home and Studio and Abiquiu and the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe
Georgia O’Keeffe lived in the Española area and is one of the most revered artists in the history of the United States. The museum is open all year, however, the Home and Studio is open only with an advance reservation and is only offered a few times per year. We at NewMexi.co highly recommend visiting both. The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum is located in Santa Fe near the Plaza and the Home and Studio is located about 60 miles north in Abiquiu. For more information about the Georgia O’Keefe Museum, click here.
We also recommend visiting Ghost Ranch, the source of much of O’Keeffe’s art, which is about 20 minutes north of Abiquiu. The ranch is now owned by the Presbyterian church, which offers guided tours throughout the year of and are centered around areas that O’Keeffe was inspired by. For more information about Ghost Ranch, click here.
