Kartchner Caverns & American Indian Treasures

Explore Arizona's past by viewing some of the finest private collections of Native American art and artifacts in the country that date all the way back to America's first peoples. Next, experience the beauty of Kartchner Caverns, home to many unusual formations and the tallest column in Arizona.

The Amerind Museum

The Amerind Museum is an anthropological and archaeological museum and research center located in Texas Canyon in the Little Dragoon Mountains of southeastern Arizona. The museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of Native American cultures and their histories.

Kartchner Caverns

Kept secret since its discovery in 1974, Kartchner Caverns was announced to the world in 1988. Still virtually pristine, this massive limestone cave has 13,000 feet of passages and two rooms as long as football fields.

Trip Itinerary

Spend the morning taking a tour of The Amerind Museum, an anthropological and archeological museum and research center dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the Native American cultures and their histories.  The Amerind houses one of the finest private collections of Native American art and artifacts in the country.  Amerind Museum exhibitions tell the story of America’s first peoples from Alaska to South America and from the last Ice Age to the present.  Amerind’s Fulton-Hayden Art Gallery features works on western themes by such artists as Carl Oscar Borg, William Leigh, Frederic Remington. A changing gallery is dedicated to the works of contemporary Native American artists.  The museum and the art gallery are housed in Spanish Colonial Revival style buildings designed by noted Tucson architect Merritt Starkweather.  Before heading to Kartchner Caverns, enjoy a scenic picnic lunch near the museum. 

Tour either the Rotunda/Throne Room or the Big Room at Kartchner Caverns.  On the Rotunda/Throne Room tour you will discover the role water has played in the creation of Kartchner Caverns.  You will see some of the tiniest, most delicate formations found in the cave, as well as the largest column in Arizona.  This tour includes an up-close look at the variety of formations and colors that make this cave one of the top ten in the world.  On the Big Room Tour you will stand where the discoverers first entered the cave.  Marvel at the strange and colorful formations and learn about the cave inhabitants, both ancient and living.  As scientific studies continue, discoveries are yet to be made.  The Big Room tour is a longer and more physically challenging tour than the Rotund/Throne Room tour.