Exploring the Grand Canyon National Park
If there is one landmark that deserves a place on everybody’s holiday wish list it's the Grand Canyon in Arizona. The sheer size of the Grand Canyon is astonishing; its layered bands of red rock tell a story that stretches back for untold millennia. The entire canyon is 277 miles long with an average width of 10 miles, and gazing over the canyon’s lip on an escorted tour is always a powerful experience. If you are lucky enough to visit the Grand Canyon National Park, you are in for a spectacular trip.
Grand Canyon South Rim
Visitors to the monumental South Rim can take in majestic views of the canyon during the day, and watch the sun setting over the East Rim in the evening. From up here the mighty Colorado River looks like a trickle down below. The South Rim is open all year round and it is home to the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. If you’re on a tight schedule you can watch a 20 minute IMAX film here - ‘Grand Canyon: A Journey of Wonder’ - which takes you on an aerial tour. You’ll visit the South Rim on Titan’s Awe-Inspiring National Parks tour.
Which Grand Canyon trail is the best?
Many travellers choose to take the Rim Trail, which is easily accessed from the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. You can follow this fabulous trail along to Hermit’s Rest, appreciating peaceful views, and catch the shuttle back. Information signs along the route will give you all kinds of information, from geological facts to the types of animals you might encounter.
For something more challenging, the Tonto Trail is a 95-mile route that stretches through the back country. It might not be possible to take this trail on an escorted tour - but if you have unlimited time and you are an experienced hiker you should think about giving it a go.
The Grand Canyon Skywalk
The Grand Canyon Skywalk opened to the public in 2007, and it is not for the fainthearted. Located at Grand Canyon West, the skywalk is a horseshoe shaped cantilever bridge with a glass bottom that stretches out 70ft into the canyon. Walk the bridge and you will get some sense of what it’s like to be a condor soaring over the Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon East End and Monument Valley
The East End of the Grand Canyon is one of the most scenic parts, but it is often overlooked. Home to Horseshoe Bend, one of the most attractive twists in the Colorado River, a visit here also gives you the opportunity to visit Monument Valley. This cluster of vast sandstone buttes, located on Navajo territory along the Arizona/Utah border, is truly picturesque.
Grand Canyon helicopter tours
A chartered helicopter tour is undoubtedly an incredible way to see the Grand Canyon. If you are lucky enough to get the chance (tours can book out weeks in advance) you’ll see the incredible panorama of this astonishing natural phenomenon from on high. You might even land at the bottom before flying back to your hotel.
Any tour of the Grand Canyon National Park is special, so if you get the opportunity to visit, take it. Find out more about holidays in the Grand Canyon with Titan and look out for our film, which will feature some of the highlights of our California and the Golden West tour.
Jenny’s passion for culture and wildlife has taken her across the world. Favourite experiences so far have included snorkelling at the Great Barrier Reef, sailing on the Ganges in Varanasi, hiking through Norway and spending many hours on safari in Kenya and India spotting a menagerie of wonderful creatures.
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