El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro

Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
Map of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
Location	Mexico and the United States
Governing body	Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Mexico) National Park Service, Bureau of Land Management (United States)
Website	El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail
UNESCO World Heritage Site Camino Real de Tierra Adentro
Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List
Location	Mexico
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Reference	1351
UNESCO region	Latin America and the Caribbean
Inscription history
Inscription	2010 (34th Session)

Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (Mexico)

The Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Spanish for "Royal Road of the Interior Land") was a 2560 kilometer (1,600 mile) long trade route between Mexico City and San Juan Pueblo, New Mexico, from 1598 to 1882.

In 2010, 55 sites and 5 existing World Heritage Sites along the Mexican section of the route became an entry on the Unesco World Heritage List. Those sites include historic cities, towns, bridges, haciendas and other monuments along the 1,400km route between the Historic Center of Mexico City (independent World Heritage Site) and the town of Valle de Allende, Chihuahua.

The 404 mile (646 kilometer) section of the route within the United States was proclaimed as a part of the National Historic Trail system on October 13, 2000. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail is overseen by both the National Park Service and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management with aid from El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Assoc. also known as CARTA. A portion of the trail near San Acacia, New Mexico was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

The trail was used for trade among native tribes since the earliest of times. In 1598, Oñate followed the trail while leading a group of settlers North during the era of Spanish conquest. The duration of the trip from the Rio Grande to the San Juan Pueblo was said to take, by wagon and by foot, approximately 6 months including 2–3 weeks of rest throughout the trip. According to journals kept by settlers they used common animals found along the trail to add to the food they brought along. The trail greatly improved trade among Spanish villages and helped the Spanish conquistadors spread Christianity throughout the conquered lands. The trail was used from 1598 through 1881 when the railroad replaced the need for wagons. Eventually, railroads replaced rutted trails and over time the trail and evidence of it faded from sight and memory. The changes that the railways brought made trade along El Camino much easier and in some cases made travel quite luxurious and exciting.