On the slow road to El Morro, New Mexico, somewhere between the dusty roads and the clear blue sky, we found Los Gigantes.

This land carries more than stone. The area surrounding Los Gigantes has long been part of the cultural geography of the Diné and their neighbors, the Zuni. Ancient trails pass nearby—footpaths connecting springs, ceremonial sites, and pueblos. Petroglyphs, though harder to find now, record generations of presence. Stories tied to these cliffs speak to origin, migration, and reverence—narratives not always visible to a passing traveler, but deeply embedded in the land.

The site itself sits quietly off a narrow Bureau of Indian Affairs road, unassuming and almost easy to miss if you’re not looking for it. There are no signs, trail markers, or interpretive panels—just sandstone cliffs standing watch over the high desert. The air smells faintly of juniper and dust.

Their bones run deep. The base is Zuni Sandstone, which was laid down by ancient winds and marks the farthest reach of Jurassic rivers and lakes. Above that sits Entrada Sandstone, deposited when this place was a shifting expanse of beaches, tidal flats, and dunes some 180 million years ago. Now it forms soft slopes beneath the cliffs, a quiet record of time layered in stone.