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Nestled between the Painted Desert and ponderosa highlands of northern Arizona, Wupatki National Monument is an unlikely landscape for a thriving community. The early 1100's marked a time of cooler and wetter weather, when the ancestors of contemporary Pueblo communities created a bustling center of trade and culture. For indigenous peoples, these sites represent the footprints of their ancestors.

This 104-room pueblo, complete with ball court and natural blow hole, is located directly behind the Wupatki Visitor Center. It is a 13 mile (20.9 km) drive from the northern entrance of the monument off Highway 89, or 19.5 miles (31.3 km) from the Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Visitor Center.  The parking area has two accessible parking spaces. The path from the parking lot to the Pueblo overlook is paved concrete at a grade of less than 5% and a width of at least 4'. Pets are not allowed on this trail; leashed service animals are ok.  

Cultural and Historical Importance

Although it is no longer physically occupied, Hopi believe the people who lived and died here remain as spiritual guardians. Stories of Wupatki are passed on among Hopi, Zuni, Navajo, and perhaps other tribes. Members of the Hopi Bear, Sand, Lizard, Rattlesnake, Water, Snow, and Katsina Clans return periodically to enrich their personal understanding of their clan history. Wupatki is remembered and cared for, not abandoned.

People gathered here during the 1100s, about 100 years after the eruption of Sunset Crater Volcano, gradually building this 100-room pueblo with a community room and ballcourt. By 1182, perhaps 85 to 100 people lived at Wupatki Pueblo, the largest building for at least fifty miles. Within a day's walk, a population of several thousand surrounded Wupatki.