Grand Canyon, cacti and red rocks: what to watch in Arizona

Arizona attracts dreamers from all over the world: a land of red rocks where the songs of the Indians can still be heard. Most travelers head to the Grand Canyon (and rightly so - it's worth it), but there are several other great places to visit in Arizona. We'll tell you which ones exactly.

Phoenix: cacti and indians

Phoenix is ​​the capital of Arizona and 6 is the most populous US city. Phoenix is ​​located on a plain surrounded by mountains - in fact, in the middle of the Sonoran desert. And this desert is worth a look!

In the vicinity of Phoenix, there are some 40 hiking trails for mountain walks of varying difficulty. Download cards and choose a vending route. Do not forget that this is a real desert: you should always have water, sunscreen and something that will protect your head from the white sun. Relatively easy trails in Deem hill park, Lookout mountain (it also opens up with a great view) and Papago park. If, on the contrary, you need challenges and achievements - climb to the top Pietsewa peak. Well, the most famous mountain in the area is Camelback mountain (5700 N. Echo Canyon Parkway). Trails Summit trails are considered difficult and suitable for experienced hikers, and for beginners you can choose the path that goes around the mountain.

Be sure to check out Indigenous Museum Heard museum (2301 North Central Avenue). Firstly, this is a very pleasant place in itself: a beautiful building with a colonnade and a cool courtyard, with fountains and palm trees. The museum itself began as a private collection of people fascinated by aboriginal cultures: spouses Dwight and Maie Heard, traveled around the world, bringing future exhibits, until friends told them that their home collection was more like a museum - and the museum was founded in 1929. Now on the exposition there are free excursions with stories about different indigenous tribes of this area, about their history and traditions. One can see a lot of carpets, decorations, sculptures, wicker baskets - and listen to stories about this magical culture, when a simple ornament of triangles on a bowl formed into clouds, rain, mountains, desert - in short, the whole world. This museum contains one of the world's largest collections of ritual dolls. kachina - they can be considered endlessly and fantasize what kind of newcomers from space they look like (bonus for Belarusians - you can find Patsu-Vatsu). Pay attention to the carpets of the beginning of the 20th century - they are no longer just traditional ornaments, but also trains, cars and shops. Indigenous peoples embroidered what they saw.

Temporary exhibitions are being held in the museum - both by contemporary artists and world celebrities such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Finally, there is an excellent souvenir shop: you can buy yourself a real dream catcher, a set of postcards with drawings of Indians, a collection of Native American myths, or a Navajo tutorial. Do not forget to go to the local art gallery: there are stunning silver and turquoise decorations, ceramics and textiles with Indian ornaments. All works are made by modern Indians - such a craft is often now for them the main source of income, so you can support contemporary Indian art. The museum runs from 9.30 to 17.00, the ticket costs $ 7,5-18.

Museum of Musical Instruments (4725 E. Mayo Blvd) - Another cool museum in Phoenix with a huge collection of various devices for extracting music. You can listen to instruments, you can play some, you can admire the guitars that Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash played, or you can get to a live music concert, from jazz and folk to classical. Here are collected one instrument from each country of the world. Yes, from Belarus too. What exactly? Come check for $ 10-27.

Phoenix Art Museum (1625 N. Central Ave) - One of the largest art museums in the southwestern United States. Here you will find a huge collection of modernist and contemporary art from Europe, Asia, Latin America, and, of course, the USA. The “trick” of the museum is the center of contemporary photography with excellent thematic exhibitions and lectures, as well as a collection dedicated to fashion and clothing design. The ticket costs $ 18, but if you come in on a Wednesday from 18.00 to 21.00 - admission for a free donation.

Botanical Garden Desert botanical garden (1201 N. Galvin Parkway). Before the scorching summer, the desert is the kingdom of life. Around the giant cacti - saguars. They can be used to determine the age: if a cactus has two or more processes, it is older than 150. Gradually its trunk becomes woody, it becomes a real tree: the birds make hollows in it and live there. In general, this is a luxurious place for lovers of cacti and succulents - they are of all forms here and at the same time of such gigantic proportions that it becomes uncomfortable for their modest home cactus child. Again, do not pass by the souvenir shop: you can get hold of a T-shirt or dishes with a beautiful botanical print, or, of course, a local cactus in a trendy polygonal pot. The botanical garden has its own cafe, which prepares local and seasonal products, and various excursions and master classes often take place here, from a botanical photography workshop to a gardening lecture. There are also exhibitions of contemporary art and even nightly excursions with flashlights. Check schedule. The Botanical Garden is open from 7.00 to 20.00, tickets are $ 13-25.

By the way, if you especially like Saguaro cacti, you can arrange a separate outing to the National Park dedicated exclusively to them - Saguaro National Park.

Heritage square (113 N. Sixth St.). The park, founded at the end of the 19th century, has now become a place for all sorts of city events - festivals, exhibitions and open lectures (check schedule here). There are also several restaurants and workshops-manufactorywhere you can try to create things with your own hands as they did two hundred years ago - from fabric to food. If the museum shops you were not enough, go for souvenirs in Old town scottsdale (4200 N. Scottsdale Road Scottsdale) - rayonchik with art galleries and souvenir shops.

Sedona: the edge of the red rocks

Sedona immediately has to itself the fact that the streets there are called like this: Tortilla Street, Coffeepot Street and Thunder Mountain Street. This is a popular tourist town about an hour and a half from Phoenix. The main thing here is the majestic red-orange rocks from the sandstone of that unique shade, which is found only in this region. At dawn and dusk, these rocks begin to glow with real fire.

For walks among the red rocks around Sedona (Red rock country и Coconino national forest) created comfortable paths for pedestrians and cyclists. For parking, you will need to pay $ 5 per day or $ 15 for a weekly permit. You can rent a large Over the edge sedona Bike Shop (1695 Hwy 89A) и Absolute Bikes (6101 Hwy 179) - Most trails are great for cyclists. The most beautiful routes:

Boynton canyon (Boynton Canyon Rd), one of the most spectacular canyons in the area;

Broken arrow trail (Morgan Rd Hwy 179), easy route on 6 kilometers with great views;

Cathedral Rock Trail (Back-O'Beyond Rd) more difficult route, where you have to not only walk, but climb up. The reward will be the most famous cliff in the area. Best to go here closer to sunset;

Bell rock pathway (Hwy 179), another long trail with stunning views;

Devil's bridge (Dry Creek Rd)On this route, in 20 km from Sedona, you will see the largest natural sandstone arch in the whole area. The route itself is not long, but rather difficult, but, as always, the views are worth it.

You can find a detailed map of all the routes in the region. here.

In the desert at night the stars are more visible than ever, so one of the best entertainment in Sedona is lecture on astronomy in an open field. If you have always been fascinated by space dust and star wars - this event is for you. Here, enthusiasts will teach you the names of the brightest stars and show you lunar craters, Jupiter’s moons, stellar nebulae and the spectrum into which Betelgeuse's light is shown in a giant telescope. It is better to sign up in advance, and there is a $ 60 space walk.

There are many art galleries in Sedona, both with Native American art and with works by local artists. Look into the complex Tlaquepaque (336 State Route 179 Sedona): it consists of several courtyards with cool fountains and beautiful tiles - it seems as if suddenly moving from the USA to Portugal. Stalls, galleries, cafes and tea houses occupy pretty two-story houses with terraces and balconies - there is a gift for every taste. Most shops work with 10.00 to 17.00. For enthusiasts there is a separate tour of the galleries of Sedona - Sedona art walk. If you decide to buy a dream catcher or a decoration with turquoise, check that a special certificate is attached to them confirming that this is indeed the work of the indigenous population.

Chapel of the Holy Cross (780 Chapel Rd) - Another interesting local landmark. The chapel clung to the very edge of the rocks. This building has a minimalist design and simple translucent glass instead of an altar, through which you can look at all the same beautiful rocks. The chapel was included in the list of seven man-made wonders of Arizona.

Sedona hosts many events for all tastes - excursions in the area, yoga practices and big film and music festivals (Sedona International Film Festival и Sedona Red Rocks Music Festival). As always, check the schedule daily and large annual events.

Grand Canyon: Martian Landscapes

So, getting to the main treasure of Arizona: the most famous canyon in the world. The total territory of the canyon is truly enormous, the Grand Canyon National Park occupies only a part of it. Nature and the Colorado River in particular worked over the canyon - and several million years of such work led to a result that literally captures the spirit. The canyon goes deep into 1610 meters, stretches for a length of 445 kilometers, and the layers of rocks in its rocks reflect millions of years of the geological history of the planet.

The most famous and convenient observation points are located on the southern edge of the canyon, the infrastructure is better developed there, and there are much more people there. The northern part is accessible more difficult, it is open only from May to October and, accordingly, there are less visitors. Starting your acquaintance with the canyon is easier from the southern edge. To get to the Grand Canyon, you have several options (but almost all of them are for the car). Detailed directions to the north and south edges are on the official website National Park. For romantics, there is an option to stay in a nearby town. Williams and come from there by train (follow the station Grand Canyon Village).

Visiting the Grand Canyon for the day is a difficult task, so you may need an overnight stay. You can stay in one of hotels and guest houses in the village on the southern edge of the canyon, pitch a tent in camping or return for a night in one of the cities of the district: Valle (48 km south on Highway 64), Williams (97 km south on Highway 64) or Flagstaf(129 km south on Highway 64 and 180). Remember that the Grand Canyon is one of the most popular places in the world, so all places must be reserved in advance.

Another formality is the entrance fee to the National Park. For personal cars, this is $ 30 (the pass is valid for a week), for pedestrians and cyclists - $ 12.

For walks along the "coast" of the canyon use the convenient map (it can be obtained at the entrance or in the information center), where all the points with the best views are marked with numbers. Between these points there is a free shuttle bus, so you can see most of them. At several points you can descend down the canyon. If from the seen appetite is played out - in Grand canyon village there is a supermarket and several cafes, so you don’t have to starve.

Now that all domestic issues are settled, just go to the edge of the canyon - but know that it is impossible to prepare for the opening spectacle. Here, as nowhere else, it becomes clear why the Indians considered the rocks alive.

Read also on ForumDaily:

How much to pay to see the main attractions of the United States

5 unusual places in New York, which are not even aware of local

19 ideas for traveling the US by train

What you need to know about tips when traveling

15 magnificent lakes in New York, which you should visit this summer

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.