Taos Puublo's Living Conmunity flas Much to be rldmived Tos Puebl mountain forests. Smaller pieces aos Pueblo welcomes visitors from all over the the oldest continuously inhabited community in the United States by archaeologists who say ancestors of the Taos Indians lived in the valley placed on top of the vigas. The roof is then covered with packed dirt. The outside surfaces of the pueblo are continuously maintained by plastering with thick layers of mud. Photo Credit: Rima Krisst Interior walls are carefully coated with thin washes of white earth to keep them clean and bright. The pueblo is actually many individual homes, built side-by-side and in layers, with common walls but no connecting doorways. In earlier days there were no doors or windows, and entry was gained only from the top. Micaceous Pomevy Photo Credit Taos Pueblo Tourism ong before Columbus discovered Taking a Tour America and even hundreds of years before Europe emerged from the Dark Ages And the people of Taos Pueblo are happy to share their storied history with tourists. It's something the Pueblo has been sharing openly since the 1920s Take a tour of the pueblo, if possible," says llona Spruce, tourism director for Taos Pueblo. "Some of our guides are college students who were born and raised here and come back to share their perspective of the pueblo. There's something very special about this because they are truly proud of where they came from and who we are as a people 1s0 Today, about 150 people live at the pueblo full time, and another 1,500 or so other families own more modern homes to the north or south of the oldest two structures our guides are college en "When people visit for the first time, I like to remind them to be mindful that our pueblo is a living community" Spruce says. "Even though we openly welcome our visitors, we also need to let them know that these are people's homes and some of the most beautiful and architecturally unique spaces. Parts of this Northern New Mexico pueblo remain much like they were when the first Spanish explorers arrived in New Mexico in 1540. Those explorers were looking for the fabled Cities of Gold and believed Taos was one of them Taos Pueblo is a World Heritage Site as well The pueblo is open to visitors daily from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except during tribal ritual days that require closing the Pueblo. Late winter to early spring, the pueblo closes for about 10 weeks. Visit www.taospueblo.com for more information and to view events open to the public. Architecture is a big draw of the Pueblo. The structures are made entirely of adobe-earth mixed with water and straw made into sun-dried bricks. Roofs of each of the five stories ng water turesa y es are supported by large timbers (vigas) hauled down from the aPube Taos Pueblo Tourism, 120 Veterans Hwy. Taos, NM 87571 (575) 758-1028 www.TaosPueblo.com 1ooo years of Tradition