Mesa Verde National Park

It is unusual for hiking locations to be equally stunning and historically significant, but Mesa Verde most certainly is. This national park contains many well-preserved cliff dwellings that were originally built by the Pueblo people centuries ago.

The Ancestral Puebloans had lived and worked in these cliffside towns for many years before they eventually left them around 1300. The ruins of this ancient civilisation draw thousands of tourists to the southwest region of Colorado each year. During your trip, set aside some time to see Cliff Palace, one of the largest and best-preserved houses in the park.

During your guided tour, you'll navigate crooked hallways and scale a few ladders to visit the palace's 150 chambers. In the vicinity, there are a lot of hiking paths as well. The easy Point Lookout Trail (2.2 miles roundtrip), which offers panoramic views of the park, is a visitor favorite. Another well-liked hike is the 2.4-mile Petroglyph Point Trail, where you can see petroglyphs carved into the canyon walls.

• Location: Colorado