Taos

Taos sits on a high desert plateau at around 2,100m, hundreds of kilometres from any coast, so beach life plays no part in a stay. The Rio Grande runs through its gorge west of town, but it is for rafting, not swimming, and the mountain lakes stay cold even in summer. In the warm months a hotel pool or a soak in a hot spring is the nearest thing to it.

Eating in Taos means northern New Mexican cooking: enchiladas, posole, carne adovada and sopaipillas, served with red or green chile, or both if you ask for "Christmas". The chile is the point, and the old family-run places around the plaza and along the main road to Ranchos serve it with real conviction. Bread from the hornos at Taos Pueblo and blue-corn dishes add more local character.

Beyond that the scene is small. There are a few ambitious restaurants cooking with local lamb and produce, some good coffee shops and breweries, and après-ski dining up at the ski valley in winter. It is a town of a few thousand people, so a week will cover most of it, and range beyond the regional kitchen is thin.

The great sight is Taos Pueblo, a few kilometres north of the plaza: multi-storey adobe houses under the Sangre de Cristo mountains, lived in for around a thousand years and still home to a Tiwa-speaking community. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a place that rewards slow, respectful attention. Visits follow the community's rules, and it closes to outsiders for some ceremonies.

The second landmark is the San Francisco de Asís church in Ranchos de Taos, whose massive buttressed rear wall was painted by O'Keeffe and photographed by Ansel Adams. The rest reflects the art colony that grew here from the early twentieth century: the Harwood Museum, the Millicent Rogers Museum with its Native and Hispanic collections, the Fechin House and the Blumenschein and Kit Carson homes, plus the Martínez hacienda. Each is small, and together they fill two or three unhurried days.

Taos goes to bed early. Evenings are a margarita in an old adobe hotel bar off the plaza, a brewery taproom or a saloon with a band, and in winter the après-ski crowd up at the ski valley. There are no clubs to speak of and little open late. People come for the mountains and the light, and most nights end soon after dinner.

This is the real reason to base yourself in Taos. The town sits where the Sangre de Cristo mountains meet a wide sagebrush plateau, and the Rio Grande has cut a deep gorge through it a few kilometres west. Taos Ski Valley, about half an hour up a canyon road, is known for steep, demanding skiing, and in summer the same valley leads to trails up Wheeler Peak, at 4,013m the highest point in New Mexico, and to alpine lakes such as Williams Lake.

The Rio Grande del Norte National Monument offers whitewater rafting through the Taos Box in spring, rim walks along the gorge and mountain biking on the West Rim. The Enchanted Circle drive loops through forests and high valleys, and the light and huge skies are a large part of the draw. Summer brings afternoon thunderstorms, autumn turns the aspens gold, and the altitude needs a day or two of respect.

The obvious outing is Santa Fe, about an hour and a half south, with its plaza, Palace of the Governors, Canyon Road galleries and the Georgia O'Keeffe Museum. The best way to get there is the High Road, which winds through old Hispanic mountain villages such as Truchas and Las Trampas, with its eighteenth-century adobe church, to the pilgrimage sanctuary at Chimayó.

To the west, Abiquiu and Ghost Ranch take you into O'Keeffe country, about an hour and a quarter away. Bandelier's cliff dwellings and Los Alamos are about two hours away, which makes them a long day. The Enchanted Circle loop passes the mountain towns of Red River, Eagle Nest and Angel Fire, which are pleasant but minor. A car is essential for all of these.

Taos suits families who like the outdoors. In winter the ski valley has a well-regarded ski school, and in summer there are gentle float trips on the Rio Grande, walks along the gorge, horse riding and a large public recreation centre with a pool. The town is calm and easy-going, and children are welcome everywhere.

What it lacks is anything made for children: no zoo, aquarium or theme park, and the museums are small art collections. The altitude of around 2,100m can tire younger children for the first days, and every outing means time in the car.

The old centre around the plaza, Kit Carson Road and Bent Street is small enough to walk, and a basic local bus links parts of town. Beyond that, Taos is a car town. The Pueblo, Ranchos de Taos, the gorge bridge, the ski valley and every trail and village are spread across a wide valley, and the High Road and Santa Fe need your own wheels. Most visitors fly into Albuquerque and drive for about two and a half hours, so a hire car comes with the trip almost by default.

Shopping in Taos means art and craft. Galleries line the lanes around the plaza and Kit Carson Road, selling everything from landscape painting in the art-colony tradition to contemporary work. Turquoise and silver jewellery, Pueblo micaceous pottery, Rio Grande weaving and carved wooden santos are the local specialities. Buying pottery or bread directly from makers at Taos Pueblo is the most personal way to take something home.

Outside that niche there is little: some outdoor gear shops, western wear and souvenirs, and no fashion streets or department stores. Collectors and craft lovers can spend days here, while anyone else will be done in an afternoon.

Taos costs what a small American mountain town costs. Simple motels and casual New Mexican diners are fairly priced, but historic inns, ski-valley lodging and the better restaurants charge resort rates, especially in ski season and over summer. Tipping adds to every meal. A hire car is close to essential, which raises the cost of the whole stay. Spring and late autumn, between the ski and summer seasons, are the gentlest times on the budget.

The most memorable performances in Taos are not staged for visitors. On certain feast days, especially San Gerónimo in late September and around Christmas, Taos Pueblo holds traditional dances that the public may watch under strict rules: no photography and quiet respect. A summer chamber music festival brings serious classical concerts to the valley, and a small community arts centre programmes films, theatre and touring acts. Otherwise live music means local bands in bars and hotel lounges. Outside those moments there is little to attend.

Taos has long drawn people looking to slow down, and the pace of the valley, the silence of the plateau and the big skies do much of the work. The serious bathing is about fifty minutes south-west at Ojo Caliente, a historic hot springs resort with pools fed by several different mineral waters, taken outdoors under the cliffs. Closer to town, primitive hot springs sit beside the Rio Grande at the bottom of the gorge, reached on foot, and are best in the cooler months.

In town there are a handful of day spas, massage and yoga studios and retreat centres, many drawing on the area's spiritual reputation. There is no bathing tradition of the hammam or onsen kind, but the place suits a quiet, unhurried stay.