Taos is well-known for its world class skiing, breathtaking views, and unmatched cultural integrity. In the long history of humanity exploring destinations and meeting new people Taos finds itself right at home. From hunters and gatherers scattering arrowheads and pottery chards behind them, historic and dramatic revolts against Spanish rule, and the new age cultural revolution during the 60s and seventies Taos has seen it all and offered the sacred northern New Mexico culture to those who seek its homeland.

Settled first by the Picuris and Taos Pueblo Indians over 900 years ago, the Taos Valley in northern New Mexico quickly became the spot for “trading fairs” that drew members form the Apache, Kiowa, Comanche, and Navajo tribes as well as caravans from Chihuahua, Mexico. The introduction of Spanish rule over Taos when they began settlement of New Mexico in the 16th century had a profound impact on the course and development of the Taos character and style in terms of rebellion. When the Spaniard’s search for gold yielded only glinting pieces of straw in adobe, colonization began and the foreigner’s attempts at converting to Christianity led to the famous and inevitable rebellion of 1680 when the Spaniards were driven out of the Rio Grande Valley for 12 years.

Despite obvious hostility, a strange interdependence that is still present today eventually developed with the inevitable intermarriage and necessity to protect all of New Mexico from marauding tribes and groups from the North. Coupled with the arrival of the American west towards the 17th century, Taos began to establish its reputation as an outlaw’s haven, special and welcoming only to certain. Taos, no more than a tiny mountain village, was transformed into a bustling trade center as wagon trains, frontier scouts and Mountain Men gathered. Outlaws such as Kit Carson dwelled there in the 1800’s and the artist’s pilgrimage destination was soon decided around the turn of the century.

A drawing by artist Ernest L. Blumenschein published in Harper’s Weekly around the turn of the century about a ceremony at Taos pueblo soon sparked the journey of many artists and literary scholars to discover the beauty and magic of this new and unknown destination. The arrival of socialite Mabel Dodge Luhan fostered the area’s reputation as an artists’ community and sanctuary was solidified with the presence of great luminaries such as Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Georgia O’Keeffe, Aldous Huxley, D.H. Lawrence, and Carl Jung. Luhan’s invitations to artists such as these created a powerful and historic community of social change in the Taos area. Joseph Henry Sharp, W. Herbert Dunton, E. Irving Couse, and Oscar E. Berninghaus were among the charter members of the original Taos Society of Artists and many more integral figures in the mid 1900’s art scene quickly followed. Many artists associated with Lujan and the Taos Society of Artists, such as Pulitzer prize winning author Oliver LaFarge, played an integral role in the proactive fight against the plight of Native Americans during the Dawes Act. LaFarge was well known for the novel Laughing Boy that he wrote about a romance between two young Navajos in the face of Americanization.

In terms of rebellion and in the same vein that counterculture still flourishes there today, Taos and its community have a history of a powerful defeat of foreigners, most recently in the landmark decision to return sacred Blue Lake to Taos Pueblo.

Outside of the social realm, Taos is undoubtedly one of the lesser-known adventure capitals of the world. Its rugged peaks and picturesque backdrops of desert versus mountain frame one of the world’s most unique vistas. This mountain valley is one of the most beautiful high desert destinations in the world—one of the only places that warm brown desert dirt meets cold Rocky Mountain powder in a quick transition and the mountains lie quietly underestimated as being several hundred feet “shorter” than the rugged peaks just over the Colorado border to the North. Among these high, “forgotten” peaks of the Taos Mountains is New Mexico’s highest point, Wheeler Peak. At a stunning 13,161 feet Wheeler affords a vista of the whole gorgeous chain of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

It its true adventure and adrenaline that you search, Taos has been known as a four-letter word for “steep” and the local ski area is the origin for this claim. Founded in 1955 and operated by the Blake family, Taos is a skier’s heaven. With a summit elevation of over 11,000 feet, this mountain drops nearly 3,000 vertical feet from top to bottom. If the elevation doesn’t take your breath away the runs surely will! Hiking a short way from the top of the highest lift will allow you access to the sacred and beautiful Kachina Peak, the highest starting gate of any North American free skiing competition.

Whether you decided to stay in the winter or the summer, Taos holds secrets and fun for travelers at all times of the year. Perhaps the reason for this is that the cuisine never gets old and always stays extra spicy. No vacation to New Mexico would be complete without a thorough dosing of green chile at every meal and you need not stray too far off the main drag to find some of the finest northern New Mexican cuisine anywhere. Taos also offers world-class dining in all categories, including fabulous Italian and Japanese fare.

The Taos Plaza boasts spectacular shopping and authentic Indian jewelry and pottery, some of the finest in the world. Come and shop with a fiery New Mexico sunset as a backdrop.

Through its different revolts and historical landmarks throughout the past thousand years, Taos has surely established itself as a distinctly different town with different rules. Come and experience Taos with your own rules and on your own schedule. If you’re careful, you’ll probably just end up staying.