Welcome to the New Mexico Tourism Department Ecotourism website where we invite you to get off the beaten path and explore some of the hidden gems in our Land of Enchantment. When you consider that New Mexico has an average of 15 people per square mile and compare it to Massachusetts a state with over 800 people per square mile, that path is not far. At Chaco Canyon in western New Mexico you peer into a night sky as dark and revealing as the Anasazi once did.  Whether on an Apache guided horseback trek through the Gila Wilderness or floating lazily down the Rio Grande with an interpretive guide to reveal its secrets, you will come to feel that you are truly in the the Land of Enchantment.

Ancient

This land has an ancient history dating back many centuries with the twenty-two Native American tribes, among them the storied Navajo, Apache and Pueblo cultures. The spiritual roots that sustain these tribes, pueblos and nations connect them to the earth and sky, to wind and water, to sun and moon, and to their ancestors. It is the the sharing of  that connection with people from other cultures, in an atmosphere of respect and understanding that turns a vacation into a transformative journey.

Multi-Cultural. One Spirit

From the earliest Anasazi Pueblos in Chaco Canyon to the first Spanish colonial settlement San Juan de los Caballeros founded in the 1500’s, to the homesteaders westward expansion along the Santa Fe Trail in the 1800’s, people from a variety of cultures and distant lands have been enchanted enough to call New Mexico home.

Ecotourism, New Mexico style, celebrates our multi-cultural roots, love of the land and adventure through journeys that share the authentic best of each, which not only benefits those that come in contact with it, but give local communities and ecosystems a sustainable path into the future.