Montezuma Castle

We leave Lost Dutchman and head to Montezuma out side Camp Verde to see the Cliff Dwellings.

Gary says whats up with these roads in AZ?

We find a nice picnic spot

Montezuma Castle!  Built  by the Sinagua people  between approximately 1100 and 1425 AD, the  main structure has five stories and twenty rooms.  It was built over the course of three centuries.When European-Americans first saw the abandoned ruins in the 1860s, they named them for the famous Aztec Emperor mistakenly thinking he was associated with their construction.  They were actually abandoned 40 years before Montezuma was born.

It appears it was more of a high rise condo than a castle.

Years ago you could go up into the rooms but for the sake of preservation that was stopped and this diorama was built to show what the inside would have looked like.

Next Stop Tuzigoot