Sunset in Monument Valley, Utah, Arizona, is stunning

 

You may not have been there, but you have most surely seen Monument Valley in the Western movies. With its iconic buttes, or sandstone pillars, that stand out in the otherwise plain dusty red grounds, it has been a favorite location for many a movie, such as Forrest Gump, Stagecoach etc. The many sandstone buttes over the five or so square mile area look amazing at sunrise and sunset, and are a delight for photographers the world over.

The Monument Valley is in the so-called "Four Corners" area, straddling the states of Arizona and Utah. The Monument Valley Tribal Park is managed by the Navajo Nation Reservation. It is a bit far from any big city, and is therefore less visited by the usual itinerant traveler. If you are around that area on a tour or just passing through, do visit the amazing Monument Valley. You will not be disappointed.

West Mitten butte, East Mitten butte, Merrick butte

As we approached the Monument Valley late in the day, the first view of the thousand feet high buttes left us awestruck. That was just the beginning. The Valley turned out to be more than we had imagined.

The Monument Valley View Hotel

We checked into our Monument Valley View Hotel, which has balconies overlooking the valley, and is in a great location to see the sunrise. It was getting dark, so we walked around the place, hiking half way up the closest butte, looking at the valley from different vantage points. Any which way we looked, it was stunning.

The magic happened as the sun started going down. The last rays of the sun created bands of gold on the buttes, a scene that is best seen through your own eyes, scene that no camera can capture well enough. We sat around, soaking in the view, amazed at the other-worldliness of the place, so surreally beautiful, so magnificent, but, at the same time, real. Yes, the Monument Valley does exist, and it is more beautiful in real life than you have perhaps seen in the movies.

The sun went over the horizon finally, so we retraced our path back to the hotel, where warm dinner waited. The plan was to go down into the valley the next day. We could barely wait!