Wupatki Monument or Montezuma's Castle?

I'm taking my boyfriend to the Grand Canyon next weekend and on the way back down to Phoenix I want to stop off and show him something that I think would impress him about Arizona.

Which is more impressive, fun to see, and memorable... Wupatki Monument or Montezuma's Castle Monument? And why?

I have been to both and they are both interesting, but I would rate Wupatki as the better of the two.

Montezuma Castle is an impressive and very well preserved cliff-dwelling, but because it is up on a cliff, you can't actually go up into the ruin and there is only so much of it that you can see from the footpath down below the cliff. Nearby Montezuma Well (a natural limestone sinkhole with a small pond) is also interesting and you can take a trail into the sink hole.

Wupatki is a pueblo ruin built on level ground and the footpath goes completely around it and right up next to the ruin so that you can look right into the rooms, etc. They also have a restored ballcourt ruin that you can walk into and you can actually walk into the individual rooms of one of the smaller ruins nearby (Wukoki). In addition, Wupatki is right next to Sunset Crater National Monument (it is really almost one monument) which has really other-worldly looking lava fields and cinder dunes.

While both are worth visiting, I would say Wupatki/Sunset Crater is more impressive and interesting to visit if you could only see one. Keep in mind that Montezuma Castle is right alongside I-17 on the way up to Flagstaff from Phoenix and easy detour - you could probably make a quick visit to it in an hour or so while on your way up or back - so maybe, you could see both.

Another thing in the area that really says 'Arizona' is Jerome - the old copper mining town clinging to the side of the Mingus Mountains overlooking the Verde Valley. It has a lot of interesting old buildings with cafes and art galleries (all built on steep slopes like a mini-San Francisco). However, it is quite a bit more out of the way from the Phx-GC route and would take more time to visit.

Have fun!

BOTH!!!


But check out Arcosanti....its the "future" city......

If your'e coming back from the Canyon -use the Desert View exit -do the long downhill run to Cameron right on US 89 and then make the left for Wupataki and then follow that road around and back to 89 thru Sunset Crater and then on into Flagstaff
Get gas in either Cameron or Grey Mountain
Safe trip

The castle it is like walking back in time.

Montezuma's Castle................