History of the Area

The Gila Cliff Dwelling National Monument is a popular tourist  attraction and is located on the southern boundary of the Gila Wilderness. The National Monument offers a glimpse of the homes and lives of the people of the Mogollon culture who lived in the Gila Wilderness from the  1280s through the early 1300s.

The surroundings probably look today very much like they did when the cliff dwellings were inhabited. It is surrounded by the  Gila National Forest and lies at the edge of the Gila Wilderness, the nation's  first designated wilderness area. This designation means that the wilderness character of the area will not be altered by the intrusion of roads or other  evidence of human presence.

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