While our original road trip itinerary included two days at the Grand Canyon, we eventually decided against it. The Grand Canyon is, to put it lightly, extremely freakin’ massive. When I finally make it to the Grand Canyon, I want to hike in, out and all around those valleys. I want to see sunrises and sunsets from all angles. I want to camp out under a full sky of bright white stars. I want to endlessly explore each and every inch. Two days just didn’t seem to be enough.
Still hoping to adequately satisfy our canyon fix for the time being, we opted to visit Page, Arizona instead. This hidden gem of a city is located a wee bit north of the world famous Grand Canyon and is home to some of its own pretty fantastic attractions. Two of Page’s most famed attractions are Horseshoe Bend and today’s topic of discussion, Antelope Canyon.
If you find yourself in this area, be sure to check out some jaw-dropping viewpoints at the Grand Canyon as well.
Located on the cusp of Navajo Nation, Antelope Canyon was once freely roamed by Pronghorn Antelope, which is the origin of its English name. Known to the Navajo as Hasdestwazi, or “spiral rock arches,” this twisting winding clay anomaly is a photographer’s paradise. Home to exquisite textures and unparalleled natural colors, this slot canyon is take your breath away kind of gorgeous. Narrow openings in the canyon walls let just enough sunlight through to slightly warm the orange sandstone, bringing its hues to life.
Any slight subtlety in stance morphs the curving landscape before you. Half a step forward and you’re granted a completely unique perspective.
To put it short, Antelope Canyon seems almost too strangely extraordinary to be a product of our worldly nature. It looks more to be like something straight out of a science fiction movie.
Visiting Lower Antelope Canyon is a little more physically challenging than the Upper Canyon and for this reason is a less crowded option. Still, it’s a good idea to book a tour ahead of time as unfortunately, you’re not able to explore the canyon on your own and you must take a guided tour. Honestly though, this is one place that a tour is pretty worth it. The guides were awesome, friendly and really knowledgeable about the history, different canyon perspectives, camera settings, etc.
After some thorough research, we decided on a tour of the Lower Antelope Canyon with Ken’s Tours. Our very own Navajo guide, Trey, guided us through the tiny canyon crack, down some sturdy metal staircases and through the winding slender passageways. During the entire journey, he pointed out things that I never would have noticed with my naked eye.
In all the overwhelming awe of the canyon, my favorite part was the many faces that Trey pointed out to us. He explained that the Navajo like to find structures resembling faces and animals that are otherwise hidden in the rock formations.
Channel your inner child and use some of that pent up imagination. Can you spot them?
The Growling Bear
The Lion
The Woman in the Wind 
The Buffalo 
The Shark 
The Indian Chief 
Could you find the faces?
Have you ever heard of Antelope Canyon? Would you like to visit?
This is just incredibly beautiful! Definitely a place on my US travel bucket list!
This wasn’t even on my bucket list but so happy I got to see it!
Those are amazing!! You’re right they look like something out of a science fiction movie. I need to explore Arizona whenever we move back to Texas.
Well you’ll certainly be close [well not that close]! It’s definitely worth a trip up!
Hadn’t heard of that canyon before but it looks so stunning!! And I definitely see the woman in the wind too! 😉
The woman in the wind was my favorite 😀
Oh my gosh! I know we see a lot of stunning photos on blogs, but I am not exaggerating when I say that these are some of the most beautiful I have seen!! The colours and perfect lines are natural beauty at its best 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing, it seriously looks incredible.
Thanks so much Marcella! I feel like you would seriously love this place! It’s so so beautiful!
I found out about Antelope Canyon a couple months ago via Instagram. I would soooo love to visit this canyon. If the photos of it look this nice, I can only imagine how stunning it would be to behold in person!
The pictures could hardly really even capture the true beauty! You’ll have to go see for yourself 😀
This has been on my to-do list for a while. I love every single photo!
Thanks Andrea! I only took about 42982759 photos! 😀
I’ve heard of Antelope Canyon, and I’ve always thought that it was so beautiful and breathtaking, especially with all of those colors! I had no idea that you had to go with a guide into the canyon, so that’s really good to know. I also love how the Navajo named all of the rocks after something, and I was able to find most of them!
Some of the faces were harder to see than others, but once you found them it was almost harder not to see them! It was truly an amazing sight!
We went to the Grand Canyon last year and it was wonderful, but huge and crowded. This looks like a great alternative. Your pictures are absolutely stunning.
Thanks Ellen! 😀
Your pictures are amazing, it looks beautiful there, I have yet to visit the grand canyon or Antelope Canyon for that matter.
#TravelTuesday
They are both definitely worth a visit!
Wow the faces are so cool! What an incredible spot.
It really was 😀
So beautiful! It does look like a sci fi movie, it’s hard to believe that exists in nature! I’ve never been but it’s on the list 🙂
These photos are absolutely gorgeous, Lauren!! Although I drove past multiple times this summer, I never had the opportunity to pop in for a visit!
I have never heard of Antelope Canyon but it looks incredible and like it comes right out of a movie! The photos are incredible and really show the beauty of nature. I would love to check that place out. I hope you get to the Grand Canyon one day but at least you got to see this beautiful place!
Rebecca
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