New Mexico Travel Guide

New Mexico Travel Guide

North America

According to ehotelat, New Mexico is a very worth seeing state, if only because you can experience the typical prairie landscape of the USA, as you know it from films about the United States. The various rivers that flow through this state add to the image of the rough and untamed nature in which many visitors feel particularly comfortable.In places the Rocky Mountains reach as far as New Mexico, which underlines the wild beauty of the state. In these mountainous regions you can go hiking or climbing.

In summer New Mexico is very dry and hot, but that doesn’t have to be uncomfortable. In winter, especially in the mountains, it is very cold and there is snow, in some areas of New Mexico you can practice winter sports and ski. A popular ski area can be found in the area around Santa Fee, for example. The city is also one of the largest cities in New Mexico. The city of Roswell is also well-known in New Mexico, and the media have already heard a lot about it.

The Carlsbad Caverns National Park and various natural monuments are also interesting destinations. New Mexico also offers a special cuisine, which is mainly characterized by vegetables and hot spices.

Climate in New Mexico

The climate in the US state of New Mexico is shaped by the Rocky Mountains, which run through the country in several plateaus. Because the New Mexico area is on the leeward side of the Rocky Mountain ranges, most of the state’s climate is very low in precipitation – both in the valleys and on the plateaus. The annual rainfall is less than 300 mm.

It is hot in New Mexico between June and August : temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius are the rule. It is during this time that most of the precipitation falls in large parts of the state. But the evaporation rate is so high that the rain hardly penetrates the soil and natural waters are an absolute rarity.
Due to the high evaporation rate, the humidity is extremely low. That makes the heat of the summer months comparatively bearable. The very dry climate of New Mexico means that the day / night fluctuations in temperatures are high. Usually it is more than 15 degrees colder at night than during the day.
Only in the vicinity of the capital Santa Fe in the north does a lot of snow fall in winter with frosty temperatures. In the far west, across the continental divide, it rains significantly more than the rest of New Mexico. That is why the traveler encounters extensive trees here that are not found anywhere else in New Mexico.

Best time to travel to New Mexico

Those who can set it up should visit New Mexico in the spring or fall. From mid-April until well into October, the daytime temperatures are pleasantly mild. Depending on the location and altitude, the values ​​in spring and autumn are between almost 20 and a good 30 degrees Celsius. Mostly bright blue skies let the fascinating landscape appear in the exciting light. Rain is hardly to be expected. For the cool evenings, however, you should have a warm jacket in your luggage.
In the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, not far from Santa Fe, there is a snow-sure ski area at an altitude of approx. 3,200 m. This winter sports center is very popular with local ski enthusiasts and tourists from the rest of the United States.

New Mexico Landmarks

New Mexico is an excellent choice for tourists to vacation there. The American state has a wide variety of sights and attractions to offer.

This is how you should look at St. Francis Cathedral from 1869. The church was built in 1869. The San Miquel Mission is also worth seeing. This is a very old mission church in Santa Fee.
The Plaza de Espanola Mission and Convento is modeled on the Mission Church of Onate from 1598.
The two sacred buildings San Francisco de Asis Church, a Franciscan church from the 18th century and the Santuario de Chimayo Church, a pilgrimage church that was built in the same century, should not be missed.

The Rio Grande Gorge is absolutely impressive and not for tourists who suffer from fear of heights. The Rio Grande Gorge is a bridge that spans a gorge near Taos and is more than two hundred meters high.

Tourists interested in the history of the American state should check out the Aztec Ruins of National Monument. The formation is estimated to be around the year 1100. The scientists were wrong, the builders weren’t Aztec.

A visit to the Chaco Culture National Historical Park is certainly also interesting. It was named a World Heritage Site a few years ago. The park belongs to the holy land of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, but also to the land of the Hopi and Dine Indians. In the Chaco Culture National Historical Park there are huge pueblos to admire, some ramps and dams, as well as irrigation ditches and huge earth walls.

The Kimon Theater is also not to be missed. It is one of the last remaining Pueblo Deco theaters. The name Pueblo Deco comes from the style in which the building was built.
The cultural center of the Pueblo Indians in Albuquerque is also worth a visit. Those interested in museums should check out the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos. In the museum there is a huge collection of Indian art to be admired.

El Rancho de las Golondrinas has some buildings from the Spanish colonial era. You should definitely visit the old western town Lincoln State Monument & Nat. Landmark near Alamogordo.

New Mexico also has some national parks to offer. The most interesting is the Carlsbad Caverns National Park. There are 83 stalactite caves to admire in the park. One of these caves is the deepest known limestone cave in the whole world at just over five hundred meters deep. This cave is also one of the largest underground spaces in the world. Therefore, the park was also included in the world natural heritage.

The Lechuguilla cave system is also worth seeing. This is an extensive system of caves in the Guadelupe Mountains. The cave itself is the fifth longest on earth and among the deepest in the United States.

You should definitely not miss the Bandeller National Monument in the north of the state. The park itself has a size of 132 square kilometers. One of its main attractions is the Frijoles Canyon. In the gorge some ruins of Indian villages can be visited.

Other natural beauties of the American state are the White Sands, the Colin Neblett Wildlife Area and the Capulin Volcano National Monument.

New Mexico Travel Guide