They really don't let you wander around much in the ruins - but going on the tour does give you an up close look. And the climb back up really is not that bad.

All 5 in our group did this together! our park ranger was awesome.he lived locally and grew up in this area.he shared a lot with us

With over 600 Cliff dwellings, Mesa Verde deserves its status as a World Heritage Site, and ought to be on everybody's list of Places to See before You Die. We have been here before, so we just stopped at the new visitor center – quite a place – and got tickets for the afternoon Cliff Palace-- largest in Mesa Verde... More

This was a great tour. The ranger's talk was very interesting! Do the tour through the park versus the hotel; much less expensive.

There are several choices to see cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde National Park. They book this one as strenuous but unless you are not sure of foot or are afraid of heights, don’t miss this. It is incredible that we are allowed to walk around in these Pueblo dwellings from the 1200’s. There are steep steps into the rocks going... More

This is a must see place. I went on a guided tour with a very experienced guide. I couldn't believe we could actually walk around on the Cliff dwellings and even going down into a Keva.

Terrific twilight tour... How cool this was to be guided through this attraction as the person living there hundreds of years ago. Talking about his people, how they lived, and what they did. Our guide was amazing as he took you back in time. As the sun set, the cliffs were illuminated with a glow that was just magical. Our... More

If you only have time to take one tour in the park, I'd make sure it was this one. Cliff Palace is a hugely impressive structure tucked away under an overhang in the rocks. There isn't a great deal of effort involved getting to the ruins themselves and once there the ranger provides plenty of information on the dwellings and... More

My husband and I had done this tour about 7 years ago and decided to bring our kids this time. They had such a great time, especially going down the ladder to the underground room and exploring. There's quite a bit of walking on inclines/declines, so be prepared! Wear tennis shoes!