Mesa Verde National Park

Sunset House is an Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwelling not visible to visitors. A visit requires a backcountry permit open to park employees only. Sunset House at sunset is an entirely breathtaking experience as the structures and canyon are bathed in gold, red, orange, and yellow. Red and white handprints are visible on the cliff ceilings, petroglyphs are etched and pecked into rock, a turkey pen is preserved, towers, rooms, and kivas are nestled into the cliff, and ravens watch over the site. At least 700 years old this site took 40 minutes to reach weaving up, down, and along the canyon.