1000 year old path with handholds up the mountain, Acoma pueblo, New Mexico

Known as Sky City, Acoma Pueblo was strategically built on top of a

357-foot sandstone mesa many hundreds of years ago for effective

defense against raiders. Spanish conquerors learned of this defensive

stronghold when they entered New Mexico in the 1500s. Acomans claim

that their 70-acre village is the oldest continuously inhabited city

in the U.S.

This was the only path up the mesa (flat top mountain) till the 1700s

when a burro trail was constructed.