Virtual Tour From Inside The Castle

On this page you will find two different types of content, Quicktime VR (QTVR) Movies and JPEG Panoramic Images.

(QTVR) movies allow viewers to scan right and left and in most cases all the way around. They provide a way of getting an overall impression of a scene and not just one static view. There are two ways to view each QTVR. The first is by left clicking on the link. Doing that will cause the page to change and the movie to open in the new page. The second way is by right clicking on the link and then selecting "Save Target As". This will allow you save each QTVR to your own computer. Once saved you will be able to open each QTVR in a seperate Quicktime window on your computer.

Once open, all you have to do is hold down the mouse on the image and drag to the right or left to pan around. Use the + and - buttons to zoom in and out.

The same to two options hold ture for viewing the JPEG Imgaes. Please be aware that these images are very large files and they may take a while to download depending on your connection speed. You can also see these images in our Photo Gallery.

Please note that you will need the latest version of Apple's QuickTime software to view the QTVR Movies below. If you do not have the latest version click here to download it for free.

 

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The Second Floor

 

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View From Just Outside The Modern Primary Entrance
QTVR Movie (2.44Mb) JPEG Image (4.32Mb)

 

You’ve just finished climbing three ladders to reach the Castle on this very special trip; not many people get to go inside this well-preserved ruin.  You stop for a breath and take in the doorway in front of you, with its wooden lintel.  You note the peephole to the left.  As you turn to the left the cliff face melts away and you gaze at the valley below with Beaver Creek winding through.  Making a full circle back to the door you take a good look at the wall that was built so long ago.

 

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The Third Floor

 

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View From The 3rd Floor Landing
QTVR Movie (2.75Mb) JPEG Image (4.85Mb)

 

After climbing up to the third floor you come out on this landing.  Turning to the right, you think how amazing it is that the Sinagua built in this cliff.  Continuing to turn you see the Monument’s trails through the Arizona sycamores and beyond the creek the valley that the Sinagua once tilled stretches away.  You turn back to the Castle, seeing a doorway and the wooden poles of the ladder up which you just climbed.  Finally, you continue on along the wooden pathway put in many years ago to protect the floor from heavy traffic.

 

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View From Inside The 3rd Floor Section Of The Main Tower
QTVR Movie (1.95Mb) JPEG Image (3.84Mb)

 

Inside the Main Tower the light is better and you can see much of the structure.  Looking through an opening, you see a doorway that was once T-shaped, as well as a roof-beam sticking through the wall.  Turning to the right you see many windows and as you look up you see the roof with its strong sycamore beams crisscrossed with smaller branches and twigs.  Finally you notice the original plaster with centuries-old hand and finger prints.

 

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The Fourth Floor

 

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View From Inside One Of The Fire-Blackened Rooms
QTVR Movie (2.41Mb) JPEG Image (4.48Mb)

 

After climbing to the fourth floor, the first thing you notice is the amount of soot on the walls of this room.  The second thing is the modern, metal support holding up the sycamore roof-beams.  As you turn around in the room you are again dazzled by the original plaster which reveals the hand prints of the Sinagua.  But you are also amazed at how many 19th century soldiers and other early visitors could inscribe their own marks on the beams and walls of this structure.

 

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The Fifth Floor

 

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View From The Parapet (Roof Of The Fourth Floor Rooms)
QTVR Movie (2.54Mb) JPEG Image (4.51Mb)

 

You start by gazing down the long wall which guards the edge of the building here.  Thankful that you and those who lived here years ago are protected from a long fall, you gaze out at the valley again, perhaps in time to see some wildlife.  As you turn back to the cliff, you see the curve of the wall, and then another wooden walkway put in when visitors were able to tour inside.  Then you see the fifth floor rooms, and decide to enter.

 

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View From Inside The Big Room
QTVR Movie (2.86Mb) JPEG Image (5.58Mb)

 

You stepped up into this walled off cave.  The Sinagua built the whole of the Castle in a large cave, but the fifth floor rooms are the farthest reaching point of the larger cave.  The Sinagua walled these off to create usable rooms, so as you turn you realize huge differences from the other rooms through which you walked.  The only light comes from the door and a small peephole; also the plastered walls have been replaced by the solid limestone of the cliff.  Again, you marvel at the ingenious nature of the Sinagua.

 

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Images and QTVR's by Joshua Boles - NPS
Virtual Tour Text by Sharlot Hart - NPS