Chetro Ketl

A short walk east from Pueblo Bonito brings you to Chetro Ketl, almost as large and considerably less visited. The great kiva at its centre is the most complete on the canyon floor, the bench and floor vaults still clearly visible. The colonnade along the south plaza wall — round columns that were later filled in — is unique in Chacoan architecture and hints at influences from far to the south in Mesoamerica.

Behind the pueblo, look for the petroglyph trail along the cliff face; it runs between Chetro Ketl and Pueblo Bonito and is the easiest rock-art viewing in the park.

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A story
Chetro Ketl's great kiva was rebuilt at least twice on the same spot, the older floors sealed beneath the new. Excavators digging down through the layers in the 1920s found a sealed niche in the bench containing turquoise and shell beads — offerings left when the kiva was decommissioned.

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