Taos Pueblo, NM

Taos Pueblo is a living Taos-speaking Pueblo community north of the town of Taos, with 1,196 residents in the 2020 census. Its North and South Houses are multi-story adobe dwellings arranged in terraced tiers, and the old village has been continuously inhabited for centuries. Families still maintain many of the homes with traditional mud plaster, and the buildings continue to serve religious and cultural purposes. UNESCO recognizes Taos Pueblo as a World Heritage Site because the architecture and the community that sustains it are inseparable. The land around the village matters just as much as the adobe walls.

The Pueblo's relationship with Blue Lake reaches into agriculture, ceremony, and the return of 48,000 acres of mountain land in 1970. Craftspeople continue traditions in pottery, silver and turquoise jewelry, and heishi beadwork, while the old village remains the center of internal cultural activity. Visitors enter through a controlled program, with closures during certain ceremonies and areas that remain private. The local scoop is that Taos Pueblo is a living community first: its historic buildings, mountain lands, family lines, and cultural practices still operate together in the present.