This monument is a 20 room high-rise apartment, nestled into a towering limestone cliff, tells a story of ingenuity, survival and ultimately, prosperity in an unforgiving desert landscape. The Sinagua were the group of people who lived in the dwellings at Montezuma Castle and Tuzigoot. Although people were living in the area much earlier, the Sinagua began building these permanent living structures around 1050 AD. They built these homes in naturally occurring caves in the cliffs using local materials like wood, stone, and mud mortar. Cliff dwellings often had multiple levels, and were accessed using wooden ladders.This cliff faces south, so the dwellings are warm in the winter and cool in the summer. The high location also protected them from damage caused by the annual flooding of Beaver Creek. The dwellings may also have been built high up for protection or to help the Sinagua view approaching travelers.Despite being called a castle, the dwelling at Montezuma Castle is actually a collection of 20 rooms originally belonging to multiple families, similar to a modern-day apartment building.These caves may have also been dwellings.Prickly pear with fruit ready to pick.
