Monument Valley Sunset Tour: An In-Depth Review
Monument Valley, too it’s almost a place that calls to something deep inside people. Those massive sandstone buttes that rise up out of the earth, well they’ve starred in, like your fair share of movies and just plain captured the imaginations of loads of folks from everywhere. The chance to see Monument Valley is, arguably an adventure, but witnessing it at sunset, that just might be something close to pure magic. I went on a guided sunset tour very recently and, well I wanted to share just what you might look forward to, and to help you choose if this sort of thing, could be something you’d like too.
Booking and Getting Ready
So, the first thing you’ll want to do, I think, is lock down your tour. There really are a number of outfits that run these things, quite often operated by Navajo families which, as a matter of fact really gives an added cultural punch to it. Prices could be slightly different depending what the tour contains and really what the operator is. Book ahead of time that’s really key, and that can be very, very important during the prime tourist seasons. We wanted a sunset tour, so we locked ours in about a month out just to make sure.
Packing for this, is almost pretty easy. Think layers because, actually the desert can get rather chilly pretty quick after the sun disappears. Good walking shoes or boots could be pretty valuable too because that’s a bumpy ride that I didn’t factor in when getting ready for our time out. Oh, and don’t forget to bring along a camera and some extra batteries. Oh, and space, too because that’s needed when you decide that you are going to grab your pictures.
The Tour Begins
Once we showed up at the meeting spot, there, there were a few well maintained open-air tour trucks awaiting the crowd, like your expectant guests. Climbing aboard, we settled in, excited, kind of for what was to come. These modified trucks are, really they are a far better idea when it comes to bouncing around over the natural paths and trails of the valley, and it just allowed everybody to see everything unobstructed. The guides know a lot about the place and shared it along the ride. It’s clearly valuable information, but not at the cost of experience. That might make some happy.
Into the Valley We Go
As the truck trundled into Monument Valley that, is when the surroundings took over. The towering buttes and mesas popped up in the distance that’s the truth, but very gradually, getting slowly more intense the closer we went. The guide, it turned out to be Navajo that shared loads about the geography, the local plants and animals and the storied past of the valley. Getting a first hand point of view like your Native one too, clearly really brings a richness you just can’t glean on your own from some book. The tour included some specific stops at the super prominent landmarks, such as the famous Mittens and John Ford’s Point where, so you could get that shot that we’ve all seen a zillion times in the movies. I had that, maybe not entirely unique hope, but it happened. We took pictures of ourselves just being touristy too and all that kind of normal stuff.
That the real magic started brewing, that, so we rolled along to a special spot for watching the sunset. The tour operator said, “it’s not one most people even get to see and it’s just amazing!” Turns out he was dead on accurate because very, very few other people dotted the landscape. Getting away from that bigger mass of tourists at the main spots, well it made everything seem very peaceful and personal somehow.
Sunset Spectacle
Sitting there as the sun began sinking behind those buttes, that, as a matter of fact turned the whole valley into a show of firey color, very warm and inviting, like your cozy blanket. Shades of orange, purple, and red began to take over the rocks, creating that picturesque image you basically only thought existed in photos. It was really almost meditative and very awe-inspiring. The quiet was basically pierced now and then with the little happy murmurs from others in our group that I also had no problems with. A reverent kind of mood seemed to take over all those present because this kind of beauty, very, very much will get to you.
While we were soaking it all up, actually the guide even played some traditional Navajo music. It’s just, almost the songs hung in the quiet evening air so well and then it just gave another layer of depth to that scene. And as a matter of fact, this time that we set aside to contemplate as that light slowly disappeared, seemed more valuable than the sightseeing spots.
Cultural Exchange
That the Navajo guide with us told tales and stories, it turns out, really opened some avenues that pictures couldn’t quite. He went over the ways his ancestors had lived off the land, clearly making use of those plants around us for medicine and food, how they were related to all the elements in this land and how significant all of that continues being to their traditions to this day. The family stories just made all of the geologic beauty become so deeply personal and showed everyone very different, and significant aspects to consider when seeing this iconic terrain. We asked all kinds of stuff like your questions that the guide gladly, like shared insight with that, basically really deepened that experience. Those types of little interactions turned our trip into a real memory rather than only your quick photo-op.
Heading Back
When that sun totally slipped behind the horizon that, so we all packed up in the truck once more to bump our way back. The atmosphere changed from vibrant that almost switched to pensive as we looked at the now shadowed silhouettes surrounding. The guide turned that star finding pro for us, and it became very apparent how incredible that darkness of this desert happens to be. Away from all of the lights we all forgot existed, as a matter of fact the Milky Way looked to go on forever and just reminded us all how big things tend to be. By the time the truck made it back to where we started, yeah, everybody seemed quieter, surely thoughtful, carrying something deeply personal away.
Is the Sunset Tour Worth It?
Spending time in Monument Valley anyway will give something memorable, for sure. But so that sunset tour went even a little deeper. Those fantastic views were that very obvious hook but also the access to, you know local culture plus quiet introspection really amplified the entire trip for myself. Should you ask me if the tour could be worth your hard earned vacation bucks, well I say probably you ought to strongly consider it, for sure. For anyone who wants that deeply beautiful experience intertwined along some native stories, as a matter of fact it certainly would pay off very handsomely.
- Beautiful sunset landscapes.
- Navajo cultural sharing.
- Secluded viewpoint locations.
#MonumentValley #SunsetTour #NavajoCulture #Arizona #Utah #TravelReview