Antelope Canyon, A Navajo Natural Wonder (with Photos)

Antelope Canyon (Arizona, USA) - exact location, interesting places, inhabitants, routes.

Antelope Canyon
Antelope Canyon

A magical and mysterious place that only a whimsical fantasy of nature could create is Antelope Canyon, which is in the southwestern United States in Arizona. These amazing crevices in the rocks got their name due to the reddish-red walls, so similar to the skin of an elegant and noble antelope.

Despite all the beauty and uniqueness of this place, Antelope Canyon is not a national park, which may be why it is not as popular as the Grand Canyon or Bryce Canyon. Located on the lands of the Navajo Indian tribe, it belongs to the Indians, so you need to pay a fee and hire a guide to enter its territory.

Antelope Canyon
Antelope Canyon

In general, there are two Antelope canyons - Upper and Lower, they are naturally occurring gigantic gaps in sandy rocks. For several centuries, water and wind carved giant depressions in the red sandstone, which eventually reached hundreds of meters. Their assistant was heavy rain, which completely floods the canyon once every few years. Then, slowly flowing down and taking away the grains of sand, it forms these curved lines inside the rocks, as if applying its magic pattern.

The best time to visit Antelope Canyon is spring and autumn, to be precise, from March to April and October-November. It is during these months that the sun's rays penetrate to the very bottom of the canyon, surprisingly illuminating it from the inside. In winter, you won’t be able to enjoy all the magic of this place, and in order to take high-quality photos, you will have to drag additional lighting. Well, in summer it is corny hot here: the temperature can rise to +47 ° C, although the average August temperature is kept at around +33 ° C. Winters are mild and not cold, usually the air temperature does not fall below 0 °C. Rarely, rarely, due to cold masses, snow can fall from Canada, but it melts quickly.

Antelope Canyon
Antelope Canyon

Upper Antelope Canyon


This canyon is romantically referred to by the Navajo as Tse bighanilini, "the place where water runs through the rocks." Tourists visit it much more often because of two features. Firstly, the entrance to the canyon and its entire length are located at ground level, which does not require climbing. Secondly, here it is much easier to see the sun's rays (direct sunlight) beating from the holes above your head - a spectacle, I must say, amazing.

Upper Antelope Canyon is romantically referred to by the Navajo as Tse bighanilini, "the place where the water runs through the rocks.

Antelope Canyon
Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon


The Navajo Indians call this place Hasdeztwazi, or Spiral Arches of the Rock. It is located a couple of kilometers from the Upper Canyon and only fans of active excursions get here. The fact is that you can get into the canyon only by steep metal stairs (by the way, they were installed not so long ago, before that there were rope stairs). And the route itself is longer, in some places narrower, and in some places it doesn’t even allow you to stand on your feet. At the end, tourists are expected by several long flights of stairs.

Antelope Canyon Map