Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona is amazingly beautiful nature

 

You have surely seen photographs of Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona. The yellow to orange to red to dark purple colors of the slot canyon have always been awe inspiring. They have adorned many walls, galleries, and are frequently touted as examples of great natural beauty.

So, when we found ourselves in Page, Arizona, it was not by chance. We planned to be there, and also at the Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado river, the Upper Antelope Slot Canyon, weeks in advance. The Antelope Canyon area is part of the Navajo Reservation. The only way to see the Antelope Canyon is through the tours run by Navajo Nation. The tours are wildly popular, and can get sold out weeks or months (during holidays) in advance. So, we had booked our tour much before we arrived in Page.

The tour by Adventurous Antelope Canyon Photo Tours began in the morning around noon. At the beginning, there was some cultural immersion through Navajo storytelling, song and dance, which set the mood for what is to follow.

 

After a long drive through what appears to be a dried river bed, you arrive at the mouth of the canyon. The Upper Antelope slot canyon looks rather unimpressive from outside as you approach it. Awash in the midday sun, it looks a bit underwhelming. But that changes the moment you step inside the canyon and look outside and around. The sunlight coming in from top creates magic. 

We walked through the different chambers of the slot canyon. There are areas where the canyon opens up into large halls, and there are really narrow areas. The light coming in from top in midday sets fire to the spiraling walls inside, resplendent in many shades of red. You can take a leisurely walk through the canyon, but it's a tour, and there are time limits, so you cannot just sit around there for an hour if you so please, though I would have liked to.

We came across this "sandfall", which our guide was rather kind to create for our viewing pleasure.

A small group of Buddhist monks came in as part of a different group, and they made for some interesting photography.

A lot of time was spent looking up, and also looking beyond the twists and turns of the slot canyon. At every place, we were bathed in this amazing, heavenly glow of sunlight from above. It boggled our minds to imagine how water and sand, over millions of years have sculpted this majestic masterpiece.

We finally came out of the slot canyon after perhaps half an hour. The canyon opens up into vast, open desert landscape, and, looking at the sandy channel, one can imagine how water rushes into the canyon during a flash flood. At that time, however, the sky was clear and sunny, and so it was time for a fun family photograph before we head back into the canyon to retrace our path.