One of the most popular National Monuments in the Southwest, Bandelier’s human occupation dates back 10,000 years.  Between 1150 and 1550, ancestral Pueblo peoples built permanent homes here.  Most of the Monument has been designated a wilderness area, and back country hikes are popular.  Besides the 1.2-mile Main Loop Trail, which leads to Big Kiva, Tyuonyi, Talus House, and Long House, a 1.5-mile walk along a mesa and up and down ladders goes through the ancestral pueblo village of Tsankawi, a separate section of the Monument.