The Sinagua

Sedona's first Indians evolved from hunter/gatherers to more efficient people. Around 650 A.D. pottery and agriculture appeared, and the rise of the people now known as the Sinagua soon began. Most of the ruins in the Verde Valley are Sinaguan. With the switch to agriculture, they created pit houses with grass-thatched roofs and developed trade routes with the Anasazi to the north and the Hohokam to the south. By 800 A.D. Hohokam irrigation systems emerged that still work to this day, and by 900 A.D. handball courts were created throughout the Verde Valley. The handball courts show a link with the cultures further south, possibly the Aztecs and/or Maya. They grew corn, beans, and squash, and traded expertly-woven cotton and red clay pottery with people as far away as Mexico and the Pacific Coast. The Sinagua also kept dogs and parrots as pets, and wild turkeys as a food source.

In the years that followed, they created breathtaking adobe structures some with up to thirty-five rooms capable of housing hundreds of people. In Sedona, there are several Sinaguan sites that you can visit: Honanki is in the western canyons; Tuzigoot sits just outside Cottonwood; and Montezuma's Castle and Well are located off I-17 in Rimrock and Camp Verde.

Then, little more than a century later, the Sinagua mysteriously disappeared after hundreds of years of development at the peak of their civilization! The reason why is one of the biggest mysteries in the Southwest and is known as The Great Abandonment. It is estimated that over 5,000 Sinagua inhabited the Verde Valley, that’s a lot if you consider modern Sedona has a population of fewer than 14,000 permanent inhabitants.

Many believe the Sinagua migrated north to the Hopi Mesas to join other ancestral Puebloan cultures. The Hopi name for their legendary home is Palatkwapi: Place of Red Rocks.” Some may have stayed and intermarried with the Yavapai—who had just arrived—and returned to a hunter/gatherer lifestyle.

The real question is why they left an area so rich in resources when all the evidence suggests that they were quite successful. Some in Sedona today claim that the Sinagua holy men saw the coming of the white man and knew it was time to go little over a hundred years after the Sinaguans left, the Spanish came through the area, but it's more likely they met their first Apaches and knew the times they were changing.

In 1583, the Antonia de Espejo Expedition encountered the Yavapai while passing through the Verde Valley. By this time, the Tonto Apache had also moved into the area, living a seemingly peaceful existence with the Yavapai. The Spanish were on their way to nearby Jerome where the Indians mined copper; Espejo had hoped he would find gold but was left unsatisfied. The Native Americans used copper as a pigment for paint, and had no use for it as a metal; furthermore; they had no use for gold and had none in possession when visited. The Spanish left, but the end of an era had begun. By the 1800’s the white man had a permanent presence in the area.

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NATIVE AMERICAN ART, CULTURE, & ATTRACTIONS

Pink Jeep Adventures

Hang on tight for a fun-filled adventure that leads you on and over the red rocks in a cutting edge Jeep Wrangler, while the magnificent canyon walls surround you. You'll be awestruck by the natural splendor and thrilled as your guide expertly navigates you down iconic red rock trails. Cho
Hang on tight for a fun-filled adventure that leads you on and over the red rocks in a cutting edge Jeep Wrangler, while the magnificent canyon walls surround you. You'll be awestruck by the natural splendor and thrilled as your guide expertly navigates you down iconic red rock trails. Choose from over 15 adventure tours or go with Sedona's most popular tour for nearly 60 years, The Broken Arrow Tour, exclusively offered by Pink Jeep Tours.

A Day In The West

Sedona's oldest continually owned family tour business (since 1949) offers a wide variety of tours, including: Jeep tours, horseback rides with BBQ cookouts, winery/jeep combination tours, and much more. In Sedona we are known as the fun and friendly tour company, and we've got a reputatio
Sedona's oldest continually owned family tour business (since 1949) offers a wide variety of tours, including: Jeep tours, horseback rides with BBQ cookouts, winery/jeep combination tours, and much more. In Sedona we are known as the fun and friendly tour company, and we've got a reputation to back that up. Let our Cowboy and Indian guides show you what's special about Sedona's high desert. Check out our website for savings on online bookings.

Sedona Hiking App

Take a Hike! The Sedona Hiking App currently has over 110 trails, over four hundred miles of trail documented and available in the App. You can follow your location in real time and always know where you are on the trail. Visit and explore www.SedonaHikingApp.com for trail listings and

Take a Hike! The Sedona Hiking App currently has over 110 trails, over four hundred miles of trail documented and available in the App. You can follow your location in real time and always know where you are on the trail. Visit and explore www.SedonaHikingApp.com for trail listings and hike highlights with pictures from the trails.

Here's how it works: After you decide on the trails you'd like to experience, download the trails onto your device (with a network connection) and 'select' them as you do the hike. Click 'Take a Hike' to see the map. Everything you need is in each hike package, including driving directions This really is hiking for everyone. Easy, moderate, and hard day hikes to enjoy the grandeur of Sedona!

Check out our new Discovering Sedona Landmarks app!


Private 4-Hour Sedona Medicine Wheel and Vortex Journey

This medicine wheel ceremony is a deep dive into the spiritual energies that many believe Sedona offers its visitors. Join a Cherokee elder for a traditional medicine wheel ceremony using a wheel made by the Lakota tribe. This hands-on tour includes personalized attention as your guide wal
This medicine wheel ceremony is a deep dive into the spiritual energies that many believe Sedona offers its visitors. Join a Cherokee elder for a traditional medicine wheel ceremony using a wheel made by the Lakota tribe. This hands-on tour includes personalized attention as your guide walks you through your fears, illusions, and truths for a potentially transformational experience.
  • Sedona medicine wheel ceremony
  • Traditional ceremony highlights
  • Sedona spiritual life Learn first-hand about traditions among some American Indian tribes
  • Highly personalized tour directly addresses each member of your group

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