Canyon de Chelly, Arizona
 

Many people have told me I must see this canyon, even if I miss seeing the Grand Canyon as a result. Can anyone give me a little more information about it? I've checked out all the websites and still don't understand why everyone loves it so much. Any insight?

I've been to both, and I would NEVER recommend Canyon de Chelley over the Canyon. I'm not sure why anyone would. The ONLY advantages of CdC would be (1) Anasazi ruins at the bottom, (2) being able to see cermonial kivas (but NEVER enter them without a guide!), and (3) less crowds. The Grand Canyon otherwise beats CdC by a WIDE margin.

I've been to both a number of times. My first experience to the Grand Canyon was my very first experience to any National Park so it holds a special place in my heart. It is like no other place you will find.<BR><BR>Canyon de Chelly is also very scenic and beautiful but not on as large of a scale as the GC. On the other hand the Grand Canyon doesn't have the redrock canyon walls like you find at Canyon de Chelly. <BR><BR>Utahtea <BR><BR>

I agree with others. Canyon de Chelly is beautiful and I really enjoyed it, but you also need to see the Grand Canyon. Not really comparable.

Postal:<BR><BR>Grand Canyon and Canyon de Chelley are two different experiences. South Rim of the Grand Canyon in peak season is like going to Disneyworld. The North rim is far less congested but is also less accessible. Either way it offers spectactular vistas from the rim. The rafting trips down the Colorado River provide another experience that is not an option at Canyon de Chelley. That being said, Canyon de Chelley offers a unique opportunity to examine 1000 year old Anasazi ruins, see Navajos still living the traditional way and experience a lost world that has existed in the canyons for centuries. There is restricted public access into the canyon from only one spot on the rim. You really need to hire a Navajo guide for a whole day minumum to explore the canyons at any length. It is well worth it. You will need a four wheel drive vehicle. <BR>Why must you choose between the two? In the span of one week our family visited Zion National Park,The North Rim, Lake Powell/Glen Canyon Dam, Monument Valley, Canyon de Chelly. Hoover dam and Las Vegas.<BR><BR>JoeG

Thanks, JoeG, but you must have been traveling an awful lot of the time! We have eight days in Arizona and at this time plan on 2 nights in Tucson, 1 in Scottsdale, 3 in Sedona, and the other two are up in the air (so to speak). I'd like to see Lake Powell and that's where Canyon de Chelly came into the equation - since at that point it wouldn't be difficult to go to the three mesas and Chinle. But we like to relax along with our travel and I'm undecided as to whether the Lake Powell and Chinle trip will be the way to spend our last two days.<BR><BR>We are also going to Las Vegas afterward, for three days. LV is one of my favorite vacation spots so there are no questions about THOSE three days!

Postal,<BR><BR>Why 3 days in Sedona? If you want to make it relaxing why not just do Lake Powell and come back to Las Vegas throught Zion National Park in S. Utah. <BR><BR>The beauty of Zion can well make up for not seeing Canyon de Chelly. Adding Canyon de Chelly to you trip is going to add at least 230 miles.<BR><BR>Utahtea

Postal,<BR><BR>Curiously, our family enjoyed the Lake Powell segment the least. Boating seems to be the main activity which is fine but we were not into it at all. I would either spend more time in Southern AZ or skip Sedona and take a Northerly route. Monument Valley has unbelievable scenery. One drawback is that there are only a couple of decent accomodations and they fill up quickly. Consider going to the North Rim if you can get a cabin at the Lodge. From there you can go through Zion and might want to spend the night near there or drive on to Mesquite Nevada which is a border casino town with several new inexpensive hotels.From there it is a couple of hours drive to LV. National Geographic publishes a book that highlights several scenic loops in AZ and the surrounding states. It not only describes the areas it also gives you a good sense of driving times etc. This Northern route gets about 1/10 the traffic as the Southern Rim. Though there is a lot of driving, you feel as though you have the road to yourself (at times) and the scenery is spectactular, serene and peaceful - very relaxing.<BR><BR>JoeG

We're not boating people either but the all day boat tour out to Rainbow Bridge National Park is one of my favorite tours. We've done it twice.<BR><BR>You want to see my pictures?<BR>http://pages.ivillage.com/utahtea2/utahteaswebpages/id4.html<BR><BR><BR>Utahtea