Antelope Canyon is a slot canyon just outside of Page, Arizona. It has become very popular over the years. The amount of visitors are now being limited in order to fit everyone in the canyon that is almost 500 meters long and very narrow at places. It is also not allowed to go without a guide anymore because people were carving their names and other things on the walls in the canyon.
You can have different tactics when visiting the canyon. Either you choose less crowded and not the best light which would be in the morning or afternoon. Or you choose midday which is where you get light beams coming down through the canyon. This is what the canyon is known for. If you go for the best light you will though not get a chance to take one single photo without a number of other tourists in it and you will pay almost the double price. If you do want that great picture you can pay even more and stay longer in the canyon with a guide that will do some “crowd control” at the best photo spots. These tours are only for “professional” photographers whatever that means. I guess you just need to bring a tripod…
Since we are not into crowds we chose the first morning tour. There were 9 people in our group and we had the canyon to ourselves for most of the time. As we were coming out again there was an endless line of people coming in which made us think it was the best time to go.
The height of the floor of the canyon is changing from year to year depending on how much rain they get through the canyon. It can differ many feet from before and after a heavy rain storm.
The guide created this effect by throwing sand which then came running down.
This is from the most narrow part of the canyon
As we were walking out we did catch the first sun beam coming down through the canyon. Not very big but this is what most people are after when they visit Antelope Canyon.
Do you see the butterfly? 🙂
After the tour of Antelope Canyon and a short hike to Horseshoe Bend we spent a lazy afternoon at the restaurant at Wahweap Marina. It was way too hot to go hiking so we could not resist a few beers and some snacks at the pool with a view of Lake Powell.
