We gather in Santa Fe (2 nights) for an introductory walk that highlights its spectacular adobe architecture, including the Palace of the Governors, America’s oldest public building erected in 1610. Our welcome dinner is in one of the city’s world-class Southwestern restaurants.

On a morning walk, we explore the Anasazi’s 900-year-old cliff dwellings in Bandelier National Monument—even climbing short ladders to rooms built into a sheer canyon wall. Modern pueblo life is the subject later as we visit the home of the San Ildefonso Indians. Of all of New Mexico’s artists, Georgia O’Keeffe is surely the best known. We take a private tour of her home and studio in Abiquiu and follow a trail through juniper and piñon pines to Chimney Rock at Ghost Ranch.

En route to Taos (3 nights), we drive through red-rock canyons… accompany a native guide on a tour of Taos Pueblo, a U.N. World Heritage Site…and a rimside walk along the Rio Grande Gorge. We’ve allowed a whole day to take in the glories of Taos, from historic highlights like Kit Carson’s adobe home to the fine galleries and shops. On our final day, we travel the scenic High Road back to Santa Fe, with a stop en route at Chimayó, renowned for its weavings and a chapel known as the Lourdes of the Southwest.