From the rim of Canyon de Chelly, the view is almost impossibly beautiful. Sheer red sandstone walls plunge hundreds of feet toward a green ribbon of cottonwood trees and cultivated fields. Ancient stone dwellings cling to narrow ledges high above the canyon floor. It’s the sort of landscape that makes you reach for your camera before you’ve even begun to understand what you’re looking at.
But Canyon de Chelly is much more than another spectacular Southwestern landscape. People have lived here for nearly 5,000 years, and unlike most of the great archaeological sites of the Southwest, this is still a place where families live, farm, and maintain deep connections to their ancestral homeland. It’s also the setting for one of the most tragic chapters in American history.
You can see a great deal from the scenic overlooks. But to appreciate what makes Canyon de Chelly so special, you really need to descend into the canyon itself. That means hiring a Navajo guide and enduring a sometimes bone-rattling four-wheel-drive adventure.
Having done it, I’d say it’s worth every dollar and every bump.
Two canyons, two ways to explore
Canyon de Chelly National Monument is located near Chinle, Arizona, in the heart of the Navajo Nation. Despite its singular name, the park encompasses two major canyons: Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto (Canyon of the Dead), along with numerous smaller branches. Both are spectacular, with massive sandstone cliffs, ancient ruins, and surprisingly green canyon floors.
The approximately 84,000-acre monument is jointly managed by the National Park Service and the Navajo Nation, an arrangement that reflects the unusual nature of this place. Unlike most national parks, the land remains Navajo tribal trust land, and families continue to live and work within the park.
There are two basic ways to experience the canyons.
The easiest is to drive the North and South Rim roads, which offer a series of spectacular overlooks. The roads are paved, admission is free, and the views are terrific. The North Rim provides particularly good morning photography opportunities, while the South Rim is generally better in the afternoon.
One of the highlights is Spider Rock, a slender sandstone spire rising roughly 750 feet above the canyon floor. It’s a remarkable natural formation, made even more impressive by its cultural significance. In Navajo tradition, Spider Rock is associated with Spider Woman, an important figure who taught the Navajo people the art of weaving.
From the overlooks, the landscape is magnificent. But there’s a limit to what you can appreciate from several hundred feet above the canyon floor.
A bumpy ride into the past
With the exception of the White House Trail, access to the canyon floor generally requires an authorized Navajo guide. We were visiting Canyon de Chelly as part of a photo workshop with National Parks at Night. They booked a four-wheel-drive excursion with Beauty Way Jeep Tours, and the team was excellent. They had exceptional driving skills (think deep sand, mud, running water, and 45* inclines) and tremendous knowledge of the canyons.
At times, the Jeep bounced around so much that I wondered whether my fillings would rattle loose.
But what a ride.
Down on the canyon floor, the scale of the landscape changes completely. The enormous cliffs rise almost vertically above you. Cottonwood trees and cultivated fields provide splashes of green against the red sandstone. Every turn reveals another extraordinary view.
And scattered throughout the canyon are the remains of ancient settlements, some tucked into alcoves so high above the ground that it’s difficult to imagine how their inhabitants reached them.
The most impressive is White House Ruin, built by the Ancestral Puebloans between the 11th and 13th centuries. Part of the structure sits on the canyon floor, while another section occupies a sheltered ledge high above. Its name comes from the white plaster that once covered portions of the upper building.
Standing below White House, I experienced the same sense of awe that I felt at Cliff Palace in Mesa Verde. How did people build something so substantial in such a difficult location, using simple tools and manual labor? And what was daily life like when these buildings were filled with families?
Another highlight was Spider Rock. After roughly two hours of bouncing through the canyon, seeing the enormous sandstone spire rising above us was unforgettable. It’s impressive from the rim, but experiencing its scale from below is something else entirely.
Thousands of years of history
Archaeological evidence suggests that the Canyon de Chelly area has been inhabited for nearly 5,000 years, making it one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes in North America.
The earliest inhabitants were hunters and gatherers. Later communities developed agriculture, growing crops in the fertile canyon bottoms. The Ancestral Puebloans eventually constructed substantial masonry settlements, including the cliff dwellings that remain among the canyon’s most impressive attractions.
By the 1300s, changing environmental conditions and other pressures contributed to the departure of the Puebloan communities. Their descendants live among today’s Pueblo peoples, and the Hopi maintain important ancestral connections to the canyon.
The Navajo, who call themselves the Diné, established communities in the area centuries ago. They cultivated fields, planted orchards, raised livestock, and developed a close relationship with the canyon’s land and water.
That history is important because Canyon de Chelly isn’t simply an archaeological preserve. It’s a living landscape, where ancient ruins coexist with contemporary Navajo homes, farms, and traditions.
The Long Walk: A tragic chapter in American history
The beauty of Canyon de Chelly makes its darker history all the more disturbing.
During the early 1860s, the United States Army launched a military campaign against the Navajo people. Under Kit Carson, the famous scout and trailblazer, the US Army conducted a scorched-earth campaign designed to force the Navajo to surrender and abandon their homeland.
The soldiers destroyed crops, slaughtered livestock, burned homes, and cut down thousands of peach trees that Navajo families had cultivated over generations. The campaign was conducted in winter to make its effect especially harsh.
The purpose was brutally straightforward: deprive the Navajo of the means to survive.
Thousands were subsequently forced to march hundreds of miles to Bosque Redondo, near Fort Sumner in eastern New Mexico. This forced removal became known as the Long Walk. Many Navajo died during the marches, and many more perished from starvation, disease, and the appalling conditions at Bosque Redondo.
The government’s experiment in forced relocation was a disaster. In 1868, a treaty finally allowed the Navajo to return to a portion of their traditional homeland.
One particularly moving detail is that some Navajo managed to carry peach seeds with them during their exile. When they returned, they replanted orchards, rebuilt their farms, and began restoring their communities.
Think about that for a moment. The Army deliberately destroyed the orchards to sever the Navajo people’s connection to their homeland. Yet the people preserved seeds so that, one day, they could begin again.
It’s a small detail that tells an extraordinary story about resilience and attachment to the land.
Understanding this history fundamentally changes the way you see Canyon de Chelly. The cliffs and narrow passages that look so picturesque today were once places of refuge. The fields and orchards represented generations of work. This wasn’t simply a beautiful place where people happened to live. It was their home, and they were determined to return to it.
Planning your visit
I’d recommend spending at least a full day at Canyon de Chelly, preferably with an overnight stay near Chinle. The town of Chinle is just outside the park. There are plenty of motels and hotels in town. Not fancy, but clean and modern. There are also lots of good places to eat.
Allow several hours to explore the North and South Rim overlooks, ideally taking advantage of the morning and afternoon light. Photographers will find extraordinary opportunities everywhere, from sweeping landscapes to details of the ancient architecture.
For the canyon floor, book an excursion with an authorized Navajo operator. We were very happy with Beauty Way Jeep Tours. Guided trips are relatively expensive and can consume a substantial part of the day, but the combination of dramatic scenery, archaeological sites, and local knowledge justifies the investment.
If you’re not enthusiastic about a lengthy Jeep ride, the White House Trail offers another option. This approximately 2.5-mile round-trip hike descends about 600 feet into the canyon and is currently open without a guide. Check the National Park Service website for updated access conditions.
Whatever you choose, don’t rush the experience.
More than a beautiful landscape
I’ve spent years visiting and studying the ancient civilizations of the American Southwest, including Mesa Verde, Chaco Canyon, Hovenweep, and many of the great Puebloan sites. I’m continually amazed by the architectural accomplishments of people who worked without modern machinery and developed sophisticated ways to survive in a demanding environment.
Canyon de Chelly certainly reinforced that admiration. The ruins are impressive, the scenery is extraordinary, and the photographic opportunities are nearly endless.
But what stayed with me was something more personal.
I’m not inclined to describe landscapes as mystical or claim some special spiritual revelation after a few hours of sightseeing. Still, it’s almost impossible to spend time in Canyon de Chelly without beginning to understand the profound affinity that the Navajo feel for this place.
When you consider the generations who lived here, the ingenuity required to make the canyon their home, the terrible suffering they endured when they were driven away, and their determination to return, you begin to see the landscape differently.
It’s no longer just a collection of spectacular cliffs, ancient ruins, and beautiful vistas.
It’s a homeland. And that’s what makes Canyon de Chelly unforgettable.
