Montezuma Castle is one of a number of well-preserved ancient dwellings in north central Arizona. An imposing 20 room, 5-story structure built into a recess in a white limestone cliff about 70 feet above the ground, a multi-family “prehistoric high rise apartment complex." When first discovered the ruins were thought to be Aztec in origin, hence the name bestowed on them by early explorers, but they are now known to belong to the Sinagua Indian people who farmed the surrounding land between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, before abandoning the area.
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Since 1951, visitors have not been permitted to climb up to the ruins due to their unstable condition. The Visitor Center gives the history of the site and it's people including artifacts that were discovered. Amazingly, the interior of the castle remains almost completely intact, including many of the original ceiling support beams even though they were installed more than 800 years ago.
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