House Of Many Windows ~ Mesa Verde National Park

​The House Of Many Windows and Hemenway House Overlooks are located next to each other on Chapin Mesa. Both of these ancient pueblos are perched on the far wall of Cliff Canyon. The sheer vertical wall of Cliff Canyon towers over the small valley and there are several large ledges just below the canyon rim. On these high ledges are several cliff dwelling pueblos and the smaller ones can be difficult to spot. The House Of Many Windows is the largest cliff dwelling structures on the other side of the canyon. This one is fairly easy to spot with the naked eye, but binoculars will improve the view. For photographers, a 200mm to 300mm  lens will be needed to take a closer look.

The name of this ancient cliff dwelling is misleading, because nearly all of the dark windows on the pueblo structure are actually doorways. From a distance, the doors look small enough to be windows, which can cause an onlooker to start wondering how the ancient ancestors entered the building. Then a thought will likely occur concerning how the agile ancestors get onto that ledge in the first place. Building a complex pueblo structure high upon this ledge certainly was a great accomplishment and all this inspires plenty to ponder over when gazing at the House Of Many Windows.

The pueblos perched on this towering sheer vertical cliff look as if they are completely inaccessible, yet there are remnants of foot paths to be seen and it is easy to picture where the tall timber ladders must have been in the past. The old original wooden ladders from ancient times can be seen elsewhere in this park and some were actually two to four stories tall. That is one big scary tall ladder to climb, so the fear of heights certainly did not exist in this majestic place!

​What the House Of Many Windows was originally used for is not easy to research. Very little information can be found on the internet about this seemingly inaccessible cliff dwelling and due to the scary high location, I am sure that only a few archaeologists have dared to find out. In modern times, letting an ancient pueblo lie in state and limit the public access is the best method for preservation, which is very easy to accomplish at the House Of Many Windows. For this reason, this ancient cliff dwelling is for your eyes only, so be sure to bring a powerful lens along for the ride!