Taos Pueblo Hands-on Horno Cooking Class Tour

Across New Mexico's pueblos, you will spot domed adobe hornos in the backyards, arched ovens that have turned out meals for generations. This day begins where that tradition lives, at Taos Pueblo, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose multi-storied adobe homes have been continuously inhabited for over a thousand years, making it one of the oldest living communities in the country. The Rio Pueblo runs clear through the village, dividing the north and south houses, and your guide walks you through the architecture, the history, and the traditions carried on here today. You will meet artisans who craft and sell their work within the historic village.

From there, you are welcomed into the home of Geronimo Romero, and this is where the day turns personal. A master baker, Geronimo has perfected his craft over a lifetime, blending indigenous and

contemporary techniques, and his late mother, Crucita Romero, passed the family's recipes down to him and his siblings. The horno itself tells a story of cultures meeting: introduced to the Southwest by the Spanish, who carried the design from centuries of Moorish influence, it was embraced by the Pueblos and made their own, and it has been a gathering point ever since. Geronimo has the dough prepared and shaped by the time you arrive, so the lesson turns to the oven: how it is built, how it holds its heat, how to read the fire. You will load the oven, tend the flame, and watch your loaf come out golden.

Then comes the best part, which is simply sitting down together, sharing a traditional Puebloan meal and the warm bread you helped bake, with a loaf of your own to carry home at the end.