Antelope Canyons and Horseshoe Bend - November 2016

Our second stop during our Thanksgiving weekend trip in Southern Utah and Northern Arizona was Page, Arizona.

We arrived there in the evening after visiting Monument Valley (Monument Valley - November 2016) . It was Thanksgiving evening, and this meant that almost all restaurants were closed that evening ... we did not see that one coming in the consumption driven United States 😏. After desperately driving around for 45 minutes looking for a restaurant that was open ánd looked ok ánd didn't have a waiting line of 1 hour, we went for a Thai place with only a 45 minute waiting line 😅. Luckily the food wasn't too bad ... but by then, probably everything would have tasted good!

The next morning we had reservations to visit first the 'Lower Antelope Canyon' and in the afternoon the 'Upper Antelope Canyon'. You're not allowed to visit these canyons without a guide and as they're very popular, I advice you to make your reservation beforehand.
Both canyons are slot canyons (very narrow canyons carved into hard sandstone formed by the wear of years of drought/flood cycles) and are, just like Monument Valley, located on Navajo land ... I'm sure that if the (new) Americans would have known what a lucrative tourist magnet these deserted places would become, they surely would have 'asked' the indigenous people to move ... again! 🙊
And the entrance fees for these canyons are NOT cheap! For the 4 of us we payed 100$ for the lower and 160$ for the upper canyon, and this doesn't include the 8$ for the Navajo Park Permit fee. If you visit the 2 canyons on the same day, you only have to pay that permit fee 1 time. These were the off-season prices by the way, ánd if you want the 12:30 tour in the upper canyon to have the best light conditions, it's even more expensive! But you definitely get what you pay for ... it's something you've never seen before ... well, I cannot speak for you ofcourse, but it was definitely something that we hadn't seen before!

Lower vs Upper Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope canyon is narrower, steeper (so you'll need to go up and down several ladders throughout the tour) and less crowded than its upper cousin. It is a 1 way hike so it helps manage the visitors flow. 
The Upper Antelope canyon is flat and you can walk right into it, so no ladders to be climbed, it is however more expensive. It also draws more crowd (we're talking hundreds and hundreds a day, jammed tightly into this narrow corridor!!) because only in this canyon you'll see the famous laser-like beams of sunlight entering the canyon, but only on sunny days and only from March until September when the sun climbs high enough to be able to reach the canyon's floor. 
We were there in November, so we were not treated with these light beams from heaven 😇, and in retrospect we probably should have skipped the upper canyon ... it's more expensive, more crowded and without the light beams, it doesn't really offer more than the lower canyon.
Anyhow, for both canyons, come mentally prepared! You'll probably feel like cattle being pushed through a narrow passage, but just focus on the view!

So, we started in the morning with the Lower Antelope Canyon. You enter the lower canyon from above and descend via the first ladder you'll encounter during this tour. 

You'll be for about an hour inside the canyon. You could also opt for a photography tour  which takes 2 hours, but for which you'll pay more of course.

The world you step into down there is just amazing ... a clean sanded floor and smooth majestic carved out walls upon which the light creates just the most amazing effect and colours. A natural cathedral, with the only difference that you don't experience the solitude ... those damn tourists! 😏

 

On top of the lower canyon
(you see the canyon on the lower right)

We had just enough time to go back to Page, grab a Subway sandwich, and get back to the 'rendez-vous' point for our Upper Antelope Canyon tour in the afternoon. For this one you'll have to climb into a 4x4 truck and be caravanned and 'bounced' over to the entrance of the canyon.

As I mentioned before, you just walk into this canyon ...

Although it was a sunny day, the sun just doesn't come high enough in November to get through the canyon, so it was pretty dark. And as you're not allowed to take a tripod with you during non-photographer tours, it was really hard to get good pictures ... but even without the light, it was gorgeous!

We ended this absolutely amazing day with a sunset at Horseshoe Bend which is only a 15  minutes drive from the Antelope Canyons ... so there is just no excuse to skip this! Although it's located in the Glen Recreation Area, it is completely free. From the (free) parking lot we walked 3 quarters of a mile on sandy, flat and honestly, boring path where all you see is flat red rock until you reach the rim  ... but then the earth cracks open in front  of your eyes and you see this 'postcard' bend. It's a real treat to experience is a sunset here.

After this more than perfect day, we spend one more night in Page and headed to Bryce Canyon with an intermediate stop at the Coral Pink Sand Dunes the next day.