On the far northeastern edge of Albuquerque, at the foothills of the Sandias lies the world’s third longest aerial tram: The Sandia Peak Tramway. It is an incredible 15 minute journey that takes you to the top of the Sandias and its 10,378-foot crest. Along the way you’ll pass over deep canyons filled with hoodoos, cliff faces, deep canyons, Ponderosa Pines, and an unfortunate TWA plane crash. From your “flight” you’ll see the city sprawling beneath you, distant Mount Taylor, Cabezon peak, and the Magdalena and Manzano Mountains to the south.
Once at the top, you’ll be able to see an astounding 11,000 square miles. You can also grab a bite to eat or a drink at the TEN 3 Restaurant. You can also ski if that’s your thing and it’s the right season. There are two towers along the way and they took an incredible 5,000 helicopter flights to build! It truly is an engineering marvel and it’s worth your time when you’re in ABQ. If you’re lucky and you’ve got your binoculars or a good zoom lens, you can see the wildlife that lives in the watermelon mountains like bears or lions.

The TWA Flight 260 crashed in 1955 and all 16 people aboard perished. Apparently there was a bad storm and the instruments were more crude than today’s and with zero visibility, the plane hit the deck in the canyons of the steep Sandias. Most of the crash was retrieved during the building of the tramway in 1966 but there are still pieces and a wing with the numbers 40 on it.