Visit in April 2019.

I will add another review for this WHS because I included a stop at Aztec Ruins National Monument, which has not been covered previously. The Monument is located within the relatively pleasant town of Aztec, New Mexico (both usages of the name “Aztec” are acknowledged misnomers,) and so would make an easy visit for a traveler who wants to learn something about the interesting Chaco Culture and visit this WHS.

This Monument contains one good example of a Great House in the Chacoan style which is somewhat smaller than Pueblo Bonito in Chaco Canyon, but similar in size to Pueblo del Arroyo, or Chetro Ketl, also in the Canyon. Overall, the site is in fine condition, and some of the rooms still have their original wooden ceilings. The main Kiva was restored in the early 20th century so that its interior now resembles what it is thought that the original structure looked like. This modern restoration was probably not perfectly authentic, but I found it quite interesting to see, and have used it as the photo for this review. Whether a visit to this site alone would suffice to claim a visit to the WHS as a whole, should be left up to individual travelers, but in my opinion, it could.

However, I continued on to the main location of this WHS, Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, as well, and I will add a few points relating to getting there by bicycling. The main highway to the area, US 550, is very tedious, but doable. The 30 km-long road that leaves the highway towards the park, is still as others have described: 10 km of pavement, followed by about 10 km of gravel surface in a tolerable condition, followed by another 10 km of unmaintained dirt surface that was in a terrible condition at the time of my visit and very slow going. There is also no food available at all in the park, and only water for drinking, so it is essential to bring at least a full day’s supply along. Fortunately, there is a convenience store right at the turn-off from Hwy 550, which helps with that considerably.

Once you have made it into the park, cycling the 15 km-long, one-lane loop road that leads to most of the main archeological sites is a true pleasure, with easy conditions and light traffic (most of the time, presumably.) This is an excellent WHS, well worth the significant effort required to get there.