Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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Tips
Taking Photos on the Reservations
Before taking a photograph of a Navajo, always ask permission. If it's granted, a
tip of $1 or more is expected. Photography is not allowed at all in Hopi villages.
from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Check at the visitor center for daily activities, such as
campfire programs and natural-history programs.
From the visitor center, most people tour the canyon by car. Very different views of
the monument's system of canyons are provided by the 15-mile North Rim and 16-mile
South Rim drives. The North Rim Drive overlooks Canyon del Muerto, while the South
Rim Drive overlooks Canyon de Chelly. With stops, the drive along either rim road can
easily take 2 to 3 hours. If you have time for only one, make it the South Rim Drive,
which provides both a dramatic view of Spider Rock and the chance to hike down into
the canyon on the only trail you can explore without hiring a guide. If, on the other
hand, you're more interested in the history and prehistory of this area, opt for the North
Rim Drive, which overlooks several historically significant sites within the canyon.
The North Rim Drive
The first stop on the North Rim is the
Ledge Ruin Overlook.
On the opposite wall,
about 100 feet up from the canyon floor, you can see the Ledge Ruin. This site was
occupied by the Ancestral Puebloans between 1050 and 1275. Nearby, at the unmarked
Dekaa Kiva Viewpoint, you can see a lone kiva (circular ceremonial building). This
structure was reached by means of toeholds cut into the soft sandstone cliff wall.
The second stop is the
Antelope House Overlook,
which is the all-around most
interesting overlook in the monument. Not only do you get to hike .25 mile over the
rugged rimrock landscape, but you also get to view ruins, rock art, and impressive cliff
walls. The Antelope House ruin takes its name from the antelope paintings, believed to
date back to the 1830s, on a nearby cliff wall. Beneath the ruins of Antelope House,
archaeologists have found the remains of an earlier pit house dating from a.d. 693.
Although most of the Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings were abandoned sometime after
a drought began in 1276, Antelope House had already been abandoned by 1260, possi-
bly because of damage caused by flooding. Across the wash from Antelope House, an
ancient tomb, known as the Tomb of the Weaver, was discovered by archaeologists in the
1920s. The tomb contained the well-preserved body of an old man wrapped in a blanket
of golden eagle feathers and accompanied by cornmeal, shelled and husked corn, pine
nuts, beans, salt, and thick skeins of cotton. Also visible from this overlook is Navajo
Fortress, a red-sandstone butte that the Navajo once used as a refuge from attackers. A
steep trail once led to the top of Navajo Fortress, and by using log ladders that could be
pulled up into the refuge, the Navajo were able to escape their attackers.
The third stop is
Mummy Cave Overlook,
named for two mummies found in burial
urns below the ruins. Archaeological evidence indicates that this giant amphitheater
consisting of two caves was occupied for 1,000 years, from a.d. 300 to 1300. In the two
caves and on the shelf between are 80 rooms, including three kivas. The central structure
between the two caves includes an interesting three-story building characteristic of the
architecture in Mesa Verde in New Mexico. Archaeologists speculate that a group of
Ancestral Puebloans migrated here from New Mexico. Much of the original plasterwork
is still intact and indicates that the buildings were colorfully decorated.
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