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Place of interest ·

Cliff Palace

Cliff Palace is a Mesa Verde cliff dwelling visited with a ranger. The experience includes uneven stairs, four ladders and about 30 m of elevation change; a paved, accessible viewpoint is also available from Sun Temple.

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-led tour of about 45 minutes with on-site interpretation.
  • Uneven stairs, four ladders and about 30 m of elevation change.
  • Paved, accessible view from Sun Temple.
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

Viajalo 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: 13/09/2026