We are honored to share that Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours has been featured by AFAR as one of 14 Indigenous-led travel experiences across North America.
The article, published as part of AFAR’s Native American Heritage series, highlights tours that help travelers understand the land through the knowledge, history and stories of the Indigenous people who have called these places home for generations.
For us, that recognition is especially meaningful.
More Than a Beautiful Canyon
Antelope Canyon is one of the most photographed destinations in the American Southwest. Visitors travel from around the world to see its flowing sandstone walls, changing colors and narrow passageways.
But the canyon is more than a beautiful background for photographs.
Known in Navajo as Tsé bighánílíní, or “Place Where Water Runs Through Rocks,” Antelope Canyon has long held significance for the Navajo people. Its shapes tell the geological story of water, wind and time, while the land carries stories and teachings that have been passed from one generation to the next.
AFAR’s feature emphasizes this deeper experience. During a tour, owner Dalvin Etsitty and our Navajo guides share stories about the forces that formed the canyon and the relationship between the Navajo people and the land.
Dalvin explained to AFAR that the Navajo word “kéyah” refers to what is beneath our feet: the earth. Antelope Canyon has a way of slowing visitors down, reconnecting them with the land and helping them become fully present in the moment.
Why Indigenous Led Tourism Matters
Travel becomes more meaningful when visitors understand the place they are experiencing.
A Navajo-guided tour offers perspective that cannot be gained by simply walking through the canyon or viewing photographs online. Our guides help guests understand how the canyon was formed, why access is carefully managed and what the landscape means to the people who have lived here for generations.
Indigenous-led tourism also allows Native communities to tell their own stories in their own voices. It supports local guides, families and businesses while creating opportunities for respectful cultural exchange.
For visitors, that means leaving with more than photographs. It means gaining a stronger connection to the canyon and a greater appreciation for the Navajo Nation.
A Year Round Experience Near Page Arizona
AFAR describes the Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours experience as a 90-minute, year-round guided tour.
Each season offers something different. Spring and summer are known for dramatic shafts of sunlight. Fall and winter bring cooler temperatures, deeper shadows, rich sandstone colors and a quieter seasonal atmosphere.
Regardless of when you visit, every tour provides an opportunity to experience the canyon with a local Navajo guide who understands its history, changing conditions and cultural importance.
Because Antelope Canyon is located on Navajo Nation land, it can only be entered with an authorized guide. Advance reservations are strongly recommended, particularly during holidays and popular travel periods.
Honored to Represent the Navajo Nation
We are grateful to AFAR and writer Kate Nelson for recognizing Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours alongside Indigenous-owned businesses and communities from across North America.
The feature includes experiences led by Native guides in Arizona, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Hawai‘i, Alaska, Mexico and Canada. Each offers travelers a chance to experience the landscape through the people who know it most deeply.
We are proud to represent the Navajo Nation and to welcome visitors from around the world to this remarkable place.
Read the complete AFAR feature and then plan your own guided experience through Upper Antelope Canyon with Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours.
https://www.afar.com/magazine/native-american-trips