This route takes the traveler through an authentic remnant of Old Spain, still evident in the religion, architecture, topography, history, and people along the route.
The byway travels through Chimayo, a community known for the beautiful Santuario de Chimayo and the El Posito, a hole in the floor of a side chapel filled with healing earth. Along N.M. 76, the byway follows through the creased and crinkled badlands, polka-dotted with scrubby pinon and juniper, with the Jemez Mountains enormous on the horizon.
Cruise on through the villages of Talpa and Ranchos de Taos & end the trip at the Saint Francis Plaza in Ranchos de Taos. Saint Francis welcomes you, his bronze arms lifted toward heaven, and the San Francisco de Asis Church was made famous by the many artists and photographers who have tried to capture the essence of its massive adobe walls, glistening with straw.
