Private Tour: High Road to Taos from Santa Fe

Heading out of Santa Fe and taking the High Road to Taos, the first stop is in the village of Chimayo. After a series of supernatural events, word began to spread about the mysterious occurrences there and, before long, a small church was built where the crucifix was originally found. From that time until now, miraculous healings have been reported by countless visitors to that little church and the magical little town by the Santa Cruz River, known as Chimayo (chee-my-oh). Now known as the "Lourdes of the Southwest", El Santuario de Chimayó, the tiny chapel built there 200 years ago, is a popular attraction drawing thousands each year. Crutches left behind by pilgrims line the walls of a small room next to the chapel, where visitors are invited to take home a scoop of the “holy dirt” believed by the faithful to have the power to heal both body and soul.

Once the High Road gets up to 8,500 ft in elevation, the views of the entire Pajarito Plateau area are outstanding and a photographer's dream.

In Taos, the first stop is at the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, a cantilevered truss span rising 650 feet above a deeply etched passage of the Rio Grande River. On into Taos, next stop is lunch at a restaurant of your choice followed by the Taos Pueblo. Taos is both the heart of northern New Mexico’s winter ski haven and home of the Taos Pueblo—the oldest continuously inhabited community in North America. The Taos tribe offers visitors a rare cultural experience—an opportunity to step inside their homes and shops and to take a step back in time. Their tribal ancestors, the mystical Anasazi, occupied these same grounds at the beginning of recorded time, and some of their ceremonial traditions are still being practiced today. The tour will then head back to Santa Fe along the Rio Grande River.