Zion National Park mixes peaceful beauty with powerful landscapes. The tree-lined Virgin River supports fragile flora and fauna as it meanders below massive, cathedral-like, sandstone walls soaring several thousand feet into the sky.
Experience the peaceful side of Zion on a beautiful walk to Lower and Upper Emerald Pools or take the spectacular but strenuous hike to the top of Angel's Landing for a powerful panorama.
"Mysterious", "Breathtaking", "Out of this world", are only a few of the descriptions offered by past visitors to Bryce Canyon National Park. For close-up views, we allow plenty of time to take advantage of the park's incredible system of trails, ranging from the easy Rim Trail to the moderate Queen's Garden Trail to the strenuous Peek-a-boo Loop. Wherever you walk, you will encounter a kaleidoscope of colours and a fantasyland of rock spires that will leave you searching for your own way to describe this 'indescribable' place.
Next, enter a special land - Monument Valley, home of the Navajo and a perfect setting for incredible sunsets and sunrises. Take a guided jeep tour into seldom-visited areas or slide into a saddle and follow your native wrangler deep into the valley on horseback. Either way you will experience an incredible array of monumental rock formations and a rich Native American culture.
Prior to the arrival of the Navajos, another rich culture of Native Americans made this region its home. Continuing deeper into the Navajo Reservation, visit Canyon de Chelly and, escorted by a Navajo guide, visit ancient cliff dwellings left behind 700 years ago by the Anasazi people. Descending hundreds of feet on a centuries-old trail, spend a half-day exploring the canyon's bottom, where present-day Navajo raise crops and tend sheep within sight of the Anasazi's deserted ruins.
En route to the final destination, drive through the Hopi Reservation - home to some of the longest, continually-inhabited communities in the United States. Afterwards, it is on to Grand Canyon NP, where an introduction is hardly necessary but a two-night stop certainly is! Walk the rim or hike down a trail, take in a scenic flight and view a sunrise and a sunset - or simply relax at the edge of this vast natural wonder.
On the last day, before returning to civilisation and the neon and casinos of Las Vegas, take one last look at Grand Canyon - and reflect back on this once-in-a-lifetime trek that has exposed you to the joyous soul of the canyons and Indian lands of the Great American Southwest.
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