I think this magical canyon is now my favorite place in the USA. Canyon de Chelly, pronounced “de Che” is on Navajho nation land in Northern Arizona. It’s been inhabited for 6000 years, and is most famous for it’s intricate cliff dwellings, dating back to the 14th century.
There’s only one path tourists are allowed to take unguided… Which is a great idea for the Native American inhabitants…. White people trampling all over this sacred place unchecked would be yet another disservice to these proud people. Its amazing they let non-Native American’s on the land at all. I’m not sure I’d be as forgiving after our sordid history.
The hike that takes us down to the canyon floor takes us to arguably the most famous of the ruins: The White House.
It’s a short 2 mile round trip, with a 500 feet decent to boot. Each turn as we descend gives a wonderful new view of the red rocks. We see mountain goats beneath us pretending over and over again that they’re stuck, before each time taking the plunge and leaping to yet another tentative location.
It doesn’t take us long to get to the ruins, especially as I’m in quite a hurry… The light was perfect when we left the carpark, but ominous clouds were gathering. We see skittish horses on the canyon floor, a few of which canter past as we threaten to cut them off from the rest of the herd.
After attempting (and failing) to feed the horses some apples we continue on across a small bridge to the White House Ruins.
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