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Place of interest ·

Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace is an ancestral settlement built beneath a rock overhang in Mesa Verde. A ranger-guided visit offers access to the site and interpretation on location; it can also be viewed from the Sun Temple overlook.

Overlook across canyons and mesa landscape in Mesa Verde.
Photo by w_lemay Source: Wikimedia Commons Licence: CC0
The place

What makes it special

  • Ranger-guided visit through the settlement with interpretation on site.
  • View of Cliff Palace from the paved Sun Temple overlook.
Cliff Palace
Photo by G. Edward Johnson Source: Wikimedia Commons Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0
Canyon in Mesa Verde National Park near Mancos, Colorado.
Photo by w_lemay Source: Wikimedia Commons Licence: CC0
Travel atlas

Articles in Cliff Palace

Guides to this place

1 article

Cliff Palace

journal.travel Editorial

Guides to this place

1 related guides

Overlook across canyons and mesa landscape in Mesa Verde.

Mesa Verde by time, effort and the kind of visit you want

The useful question at Mesa Verde is not which viewpoint photographs a cliff dwelling best, but which part of the landscape you want to understand: mesa-top villages, a close-up guided visit, or a slow day on foot and by bicycle. Each option calls for different amounts of time, physical ability and expectations.

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Information in context

Sources and references

This profile summarises our destination guides. Their research sources and the geographical reference are listed below.

Profile updated: 28/09/2026