Monument Valley in Utah
Monument Valley is a large depression located on the southern border of Utah and Arizona in the United States. A region of sandstone rock formations that rises 300m above the desert floor, creating one of the most enduring images of the Wild West.
These reddish-coloured plateaus, surrounded by an enormous desert, are well known for appearing in countless films and having been photographed by different professionals. It is a landscape that fascinates visitors with its intense and rich palette of colours, and is worth discovering in the light of dawn or when the sun goes down at dusk.
Monument Valley in Utah in the United States
Monument Valley, located on the Navajo Indian Reservation, is accessible from U.S. Highway 163. The narrow road leads to the entrance of the Reservation, where you must pay an entrance fee of about US$5. The panoramic view from the Visitor Center, which also houses The View Hotel, is spectacular, but to see most of the park you'll need to travel along Valley Drive, a 27km road.Monument Valley in UtahThe road winds between hills and plateaus such as the Mitchell Massif and Totem Pole, a 91m-high stone spire a few metres wide, and can be done by car or by hiring one of the guided tours of Monument Valley, accompanied by a native Navajo Indian. Short or long tours, the latter lasting three hours, can be booked for between $40 and $80.
The long trail runs along John Ford Point, enters the Navajo area of the valley, a spectacular and restricted area if not visited with a Navajo guide, with petroglyphs over 1000 years old, and ends at North Pint. Along the way you can see eroded rocks, ancient cave and hill houses, natural arches and petroglyphs as part of a landscape that is hard to forget.
Accommodation in Monument Valley Utah
The View Hotel at the Visitor Centre is a good option to enjoy Monument Valley in peace and quiet from early morning. Other nearby accommodation options are in Kayenta or Gray Mountain in Arizona. 220km. separate the town of Kayenta from Durango International Airport (Colorado) to which there are cheap flights from Spain.
Monument Valley is a vast, flat, desolate landscape dotted with rock formations, the last remnants of the sandstone layers that once covered the region. It is a breathtaking and typical landscape of the Wild West.
