Keet Seel Navajo National Monument

The 700 year old Ancestral Puebloan ruins of Keet Seel were discovered by Richard Wetherill in early 1895. They can only be viewed by hiking into Tsegi Canyon, climbing down a thousand foot plateau and hiking up a well marked trail. The route requires crossing a rocky streambed through water sometimes encountering quicksand, rock and mud. The route is some of the most enchanting country on the planet passing five waterfalls, colorful bluffs of Pink sandstone and the intense blue skies of Navajo country. When the overnight campground is reached a ranger must be met to guide visitors through the ruins. The route back is the mother of all hikes when the base of the Shanto Plateau is reached it requires a thousand foot climb out of the Tsegi Canyon.