Montezuma was never in this area. However, his descendants and followers moved here from Mexico. Therefore this castle has his name. It is not a castle in the sense we know. These Indians (or Native Americans), the Hopi, lived just as the Anasazi Indians in Mesa Verde, Colorado. They built their homes into the side of the mountain. This one is slightly different in that it is 5 stories high, all of it inside the mountain. They built walls on the outside which made it look like an adobe house. This dwelling was so large and so elaborate they call it a castle. So, of course all we can see is the outside wall and holes in the side of the mountain. It is incredible to think these people figured out how to engineer their dwellings in the sides of a sandstone mountain. They used every plant and tree in the area for every conceivable use including food, tools, shelter and fabric. Some trees are a harder wood than others. Those were used for tools. The river below was used for irrigating their crops by means of canals that moved the water out of the river into the fields, basically the same way farmers irrigate today if they lack sprinklers. This dwellling faces south which gave this castle solar heating all year round. These people left this area in the 1400s. It is easy to say they were way ahead of their time. We had no idea when we drove in that Montezuma's Castle was actually a cliff dwelling. It is a beautiful area that is very well maintained by the National Park Service. It was an interesting and informative day.
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