Central, New Mexico

You'll find New Mexico's only metropolitan city in the Central Region. Albuquerque, founded in 1706, still preserves its history in the Old Town area, where visitors can enjoy shops, galleries, and the arts, crafts and foods sold by bendors and artisans who surround the plaza daily. Before the city was founded, El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro passed through the area. This 1,800 mile Royal Road, used by Spaniards more than 400 years ago, ran from Mexico City to what is now the Santa Fe / Taos area. Hundreds of years before the arrival of the Europeans, Puebloan people used the same trail for communication and trade. El Camino Real followed the route that is now I-25. New Mexico's partner arterial to I-25, I-40, replaced a more contemporary historic road, the legendary Route 66.

In addition to the cultural history provided by the Native Americans in the area, travelers can enjoy the prehistoric landscape. Once under the water of an ancient ocean, New Mexico's Central Region boasts plenty of hiking, camping and natural sightseeing areas, including the Sania, Manzano and Jemez mountains, the Rio Grande and the farming communities of Los Lunas and Belen, where many spots along the river serve as refuge for migrating birds.