Villages
Taos is surrounded by many small villages, each with their own style and personality. Venture out into these quintessential New Mexico communities to discover the real flavor of the area.
To the south, there are two main roads to Santa Fe and Albuquerque. One is The High Road traveling through the rural agricultural communities of Peñasco, Las Trampas, Truchas, and Chimayo. Many of New Mexico's artists live in these communities, crafting hand-carved retalbos and santos, painting magnificent landscapes, weaving traditions-old blankets, and growing chiles! The other way to Santa Fe is along the Rio Grande - traveling along the beautiful rushing river carved through red sandstone. Small farm communities line the way, as well as numerous picnic sites along the river. Stop at a roadside stand and get a ristra (string of New Mexico red chiles) to bring home and remember your travels in New Mexico.
To the west, you'll travel over the Rio Grande Bridge, past the Earthship community (where you can tour an earthship and see its renewable energy systems), and drive across the mesa to Tres Piedras. At this junction you can drive north to Colorado or south to the mineral springs resort, Ojo Caliente. If you continue west you will climb into vast aspen forests and drop down into the Chama Valley. In Chama, you can hop aboard the Cumbres-Toltec Railroad for a ride through the mountains of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.
