There are so many noteworthy national monuments located in Arizona! It’s probably a known fact that a lot of them are associated with the Native Americans. Not too long ago, I discovered there’s
Find the place here:

A well-preserved cliff dwelling
Montezuma Castle is a cliff dwelling embedded in a limestone cliff at 90 ft high. Created as one of the earliest national monuments, it was declared as one on December 8th, 1906. On October 15, 1966, it was also added onto the National Register of Historic Places.

Upon coming here and looking at this national monument, this “castle” situated above your head, as you look up, is a wonderous stone creation to marvel at. It’s entirely constructed with limestone. The early visitors of this Montezuma Castle have taken artifacts to keep as souvenirs and damage was created within the castle’s structure by tourists to find more artifacts.
There also used to be access granted to visitors to climb up into the monument with ladders to see the rooms back in the 1940s and they were normally assisted by park rangers, providing them with a tour guide. Over these years, there had to be maintenance done to restore the ruin.
By 1951, thousands of people per year were visiting and the administrators thought they could no longer serve guides and accommodation to visitors. The rising volume of visitors made it harder for


Once occupied by “Prehistoric People of the Desert Southwest”
This cliff dwelling was built by the Southern Sinagua farmers, a tribe of pre-Columbian people, and they created 20 rooms around 1100 to 1300. This place has a nearby visitor center with a gift shop and inside, you can also view a museum to learn more about the culture of the Sinaguas and how they lived through this time along with learning about the tools to help them build this dwelling. As you’ve learned now, this national monument was not built by Aztec people.


You can walk around the premise around and below the castle and can find walkways that connect to other spaces that the



Right in the surrounding area of Montezuma Castle is a creek, where Sinaguas used to use it as a reliable source of water. You can make a walk directly down the path away from Montezuma Castle to find it. Other national monuments that you can discover in Arizona that the culture of Sinaguas
Find A Place to Stay In If You’re Visiting Montezuma Castle!


During Christmas Day, my parents, siblings, aunt, and cousin all stayed in a hotel just 5 minutes away from Montezuma Castle called Cliff Castle Casino Hotel after exploring Sedona. From the name of this hotel, you will automatically know it’s inspired by Montezuma Castle.
It’s tribally owned by Yavapai-Apache Native Americans. It’s also a great hotel to stay in if you are planning to explore nearby attractions such as the national monuments I mentioned before, Sedona, Jerome, Prescott, and other places by Verde Valley.
You’ll enjoy this hotel as much as I did because they have a heated pool, 20-lane bowling area, an arcade, gift shops, cafes
You can also search for other options here:
Booking.comSources:
- National Park Service
- National Park Service’s “Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot” Pamphlet
Note: This post includes affiliate links. You can read my full disclosure policy here. If you make a purchase from one of these links, I will earn a small commission but with no additional cost from you. Like most sites, my blog website needs compensation to keep it running, so thank you for supporting me to keep on helping!
Great post 😁
Thank you! 🙂
Loved the pictures! Looks like an interesting place.
Thank you so much. It really is interesting.
I love all of the history in this post!
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed reading the history.
Wow this place is so cool! It’s amazing how they built these places!
Thank you! I’m amazed too from how civilization looked back then.
Love all of the pictures! This would be so cool to see in person.
Thank you so much Amanda. It’s a lot cooler in person, that’s for sure.