Page, AZ was one of our destinations on our Epic Arizona Trip. If you are going to be in Page, AZ, you’ve got to make sure to tour Upper Antelope Canyon, along with the Horseshoe Bend and the Glen Canyon Dam. Review this Guide to the Upper Antelope Navajo Tours and plan ahead as you must go through one of the Navaho Tour companies. This Upper Antelope Slot Canyon Navaho tour was one of the highlights of our entire Arizona trip!
What is the Navajo Upper Antelope Canyon?
The Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon sitting on Navajo land that was formed by the long-term erosion of Navajo sandstone due to flash flooding.
Rainwater, especially during monsoon seasons, runs through the high land basin above slot canyon sections, picking up speed and sand as it rushes into the narrow passageways. Over time, the passageways eroded more and more, deepening the corridors and smoothing hard edges to form characteristic curved and flowing shapes.
Take a look at these pictures that show tree branches stuck in the rocks 30 feet up in the air. It is hard to imagine but the water level had to been at least that high.
Antelope Canyon got its name from the belief that antelopes once grazed along the canyon in the winter. The Navajos have a name for Upper Antelope Slot Canyon which means “where water runs through rocks”.
Upper Antelope Canyon, which is also known as the “crack”, is the most popular of the two slot canyons that make up Antelope Canyon. It is also the most visited slot canyon in the American Southwest and the most photographed in the world.
Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon
The Upper Antelope Canyon tour is the more popular route of the two. The wall in the Upper Antelope Canyon reaches up to 120 feet. We toured the Upper Antelope Slot Canyon, but there’s also a Lower Antelope Slot Canyon as well. The lower Antelope Canyon, called Spiral Rock Arches, is V-shaped, narrower at the bottom and wider at the top. It is at a different location than the Upper Antelope Canyon.
Differences
Now the difference between the upper and lower canyons: The A-frame. The Upper Canyon has more walking space at the bottom, but less light. Whereas the Lower Canyon has a V frame, less flat walking space, but more light.
Back to Upper Canyon, a more accessible, and relatively flat path. The Lower Canyon has much more challenging steps having to go up and down. On the Lower Antelope Canyon, you will have to climb over boulders and the path has many ladders. It is considered a moderate to difficult trail.
The upper canyon is only about 100 yards long, while the lower canyon is 650 yards long with about 130 steps. Now five tour companies operate in the upper canyon, while two operate in the lower. The upper canyon is the best place to see sunbeams and is great for photographs.
And the lower canyon has slightly fewer crowds. You can get good shots of the canyon walls as the light shines in more easily. The Upper Canyon is a bit more expensive than the Lower Canyon.
Where is the Upper Antelope Canyon and the Tour Company?
How to visit or tour the site? The Upper Antelope Canyon are on sacred Navajo land. With that being said, to visit you must book a guide through one of the various companies offering these tours.
We decided to use the Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours Company. It was great and we do highly recommend them. They provided a one-of-a-kind tour of the beautiful Upper Antelope Canyon. The Upper Antelope Canyon tour starts, of course, with driving to the tour site, which is down Highway 98 East, which is to the southeast of Page.
You will see the Navajo Upper Antelope Tour signs to the right. Take that turn and park in the parking lot.
What to Expect with the Tour?
Ticket Counter and Getting Ready
Go up to the ticket counter and get signed in. When they are ready, they will call your group up. You proceed to the person calling the group and will be handed off to the Navajo guide. He will escort you to his tour truck. There is a covered sitting area for you to wait.
Heading out on Truck
Everyone will pile into the back of the truck which has a cover. We got lucky and Lee, our guide, said we could ride up front with him. That was pretty cool as we got to talk a bit on the way to the canyon. This is about a 15-minute drive using four-wheel drive the entire way through a sandy landscape.
Once you get to the Canyon, the guide will park and everyone will get out. Leo gave us some instruction told us how the tour will proceed.
Once you get to the Canyon, Leo, or the guide will park and everyone gets out. Leo gave us instructions and told us how the tour will proceed.
Heading Into the Slot Canyon
Finally, after all the anticipation, We get ready to enter the Upper Antelope Slot Canyon. The tour through the canyon takes about one hour. Leo, our guide, was extremely helpful and showed everyone how to set their camera filter on the smartphone to get the best pictures with the lighting in the canyon.
Inside the Slot Canyon
We proceeded through the Canyon.
Leo actually took some pictures of us in a few strategic spots, and the pictures were absolutely awesome, like this panoramic picture he took.
We proceeded through the canyon. It took about 60 minutes or so to explore it.
Exiting the Canyon
And finally, we exit the canyon. You proceed up to a covered walkway which allows you to climb up in elevation a bit to head back.
After a fairly short walk, we then went on a declining walkway to get us back down to the tour truck.
Everybody piled back into the truck and then Leo, our guide, drove us back out to the tour company area. Takes about 15 minutes or so.
End of the Tour
Don’t forget to tip the tour guide. They make your trip memorable. Leo was excellent and deserved a good tip for everything he did to make the tour fun and memorable!!
Due to the high demand for tours, Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours only makes future tour slots available one or two months in advance. The tours are at 7:30 AM, 9:35 AM, 11:40 AM, and 1:45 PM. We did the 11:40 AM, and that’s where you get the best photos. Now, the Upper Antelope Canyon tour was an absolute highlight of our overall Arizona trip.
Erin and I highly, highly recommend you to go and do the tour of the Navajo Upper Antelope Slot Canyon. The pictures here do not do any justice to the beauty, the different colors, and everything that you see going through the tour.
Check out this Guide to the Upper Antelope Navajo Tours to hopefully influence you to spend the time out with your significant other(s) and make memories!!
If you like this content, you will also want to see our post on the nearby Horseshoe Bend Overlook. You will also want to check out the rest of the Arizona trip posts and YouTube videos. We went all over the state and can help you plan your own epic Arizona vacation.
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