Jenn Fields, The Denver Post

if you plan to go. Visitors are welcome during daylight hours. 2349 Camino Baca Grande, 719-256-4108, babajiashram.org

Crestone

Ashram? Check. Stupas? Check. Hmm, what’s missing here? Well, it’s not a ziggurat, because Crestone has one of those.

Ziggurats are ancient Sumerian structures that historians believe were temples designed to bring worshippers skyward, closer to the gods ... maybe. The purpose of the ziggurat in ancientmesopotamia is a bit of a mystery, and frankly, so is the Crestone ziggurat. It was built by Najeeb Halaby, father of Jordan’s Queen Noor.

Your phone won’t get you to the ziggurat. From Camino Baca Grande, take Camino Real south; turn left on Cottonwood Creek Road, then right on Rainbow Trout Trail. Park where the road ends at a fading dirt road and hike toward the ziggurat.

Eat, drink and be enlightened

Spiritually fulfilled (perhaps), you can think aboutworldly pleasures, not to mention your corpo- real needs. If the spiritual buzz isn’t enough, pop into Cloud Station (300 S. Cottonwood St., 719496-0966, elephantcloudmarket.com), the coffee shop attached to Elephant Cloud Market. Craft beer aficionados will be glad to learn that Crestone Brewing Co. (187W. Silver Ave., 719-256-6400, crestonebrewingco.com) has an enlightened selection of ales alongside tasty pub fare. Locals rave about both the brewery, which is new, and their longtime dining favorite, Desert Sage (242 Baca Grantway, 719-256-4402; closedmondays).

Crestone has a handful of bed and breakfasts and plenty of vacation rentals, from the Bliss Inn, behind the brewery, to retreat cabins and Airbnb offerings in the subdivision that include a hobbit house and a “shamanic healing” home.

Wherever the spirit leads you to stay, bring bug spray if you’re visiting in June. Theword in Crestone is that the early summer mosquitoes are out of thisworld.

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