New Mexico has long played second fiddle to its flashier American neighbours, but specialist operator Journeyscape is betting that travellers are ready to give the state its due. The company has launched a 14-day self-drive itinerary, the Ultimate New Mexico Road Trip: Albuquerque, Taos & Santa Fe, built deliberately around a slower pace — fewer stops, longer stays and more time spent with the people and cultures that make the state distinctive.

The route starts in Albuquerque and finishes in Santa Fe, threading together the big names with places most visitors miss. On the marquee list: the dazzling white gypsum dunes of White Sands National Park, the underground chambers of Carlsbad Caverns, the historic adobe streets of Mesilla, the art colony of Taos and Chaco Culture National Historical Park, a UNESCO-listed site holding the ruins of an ancient ancestral Puebloan civilisation.

It's the included experiences that give the trip its character. Travellers ride the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway above Albuquerque, join a guided artisan walk and chocolate tasting in Taos, stargaze over the Rio Grande Gorge, tour Georgia O'Keeffe's home and studio in Abiquiú, take a hands-on New Mexican cooking class, and soak at Ojo Caliente, one of the oldest natural health resorts in North America.

Journeyscape's product manager Dominique Kotsias says the destination rewards curiosity rather than checklist touring — pointing to independent galleries, family-run restaurants and living Native and Hispanic cultures that have shaped the region for centuries. The itinerary taps a broader shift: growing numbers of travellers want depth over speed, and New Mexico's unhurried rhythm and wide-open landscapes suit that style well.

The practical bit: the trip costs from £4,995 per person, based on two sharing, excluding international flights. That covers good-quality hotels, car hire and the excursions listed.

Who's it for? Anyone who's already done the classic American Southwest loop and wants something less obvious, or first-timers who'd rather spend two weeks getting to know one state than racing across several. Self-drive means you can linger at a dune field or a gallery without a coach schedule breathing down your neck — and with deserts, mountains, ancient ruins and a serious food scene packed into one state, New Mexico punches well above its tourist-office budget. Just come hungry: green chile goes on more or less everything, and that's a very good thing.