Upper vs Lower Antelope Canyon - The Comparison

The Antelope Canyon is one of the most popular tourist destinations in USA.
Situated in Page, Arizona, this sandstone slot canyon can also be considered as one of the natural wonders of America.

But the most important question that occurs in everyone’s mind is, whether to visit Upper or Lower Antelope Canyon. Both of them are stunningly beautiful and will give you an experience of lifetime.
We visited both the canyons and here is the comparison and list of common factors between the two, to help you decide.

Common Factors

1. Crowd
    5 years ago, Upper Antelope was considered more famous and crowded, but things have changed
    thereafter. Today both the Canyons are equally crowded during the peak season, especially in
    summers.
    So whichever Canyon you are visiting, don’t expect to get much time to spend at one spot and be
    prepared to always keep moving. If you won’t stick to your guide and follow his instructions,
    there is a possibility that he might shout at you or not take your pics.

2. Expensive
    Antelope Canyon is privately owned by Navajo Nation and is a source of tourism business for
    them. As a result, the tour cost of these Canyons is on the higher side, as compared to the 

    admission fee for any national park in USA.

    Normal tours for Upper Canyon starts from $60 and $50 for Lower Canyon.
    This price is the walk-in price. If you book online the price is still higher.
    And yes, you need to pay $8/person for the Navajo guide who accompanies you during the tour.

    I would suggest to book online if you are visiting during the peak season, as the slots get booked
    pretty fast.

Now moving on to the comparison between the two slot canyons, here are the thumbs up and thumbs down points for both the Canyons.

Upper Antelope Canyon
Upper Antelope Canyon is V shaped, narrow at the top and wide at the base. It is famous for its light beams and falling sand.The most expensive photo ever was also taken here by Australian landscaper photographer Peter Lik.

There are lot of tour providers for Upper Antelope Canyon. Some of the ones I know are:
- Antelope Canyon Tours
- Adventurous Antelope Canyon PhotoTours
- Antelope Canyon Navajo Tours

Thumbs Up
1. Photogenic
    Because of the beam of light the Upper Antelope Canyon is more photogenic. Mostly the pics on
    the internet are of Upper Canyon only.

    There are photography tours available for Upper Canyon which are no longer provided for Lower
     Canyon.  So if you are a serious photographer, the photography tours are for you.

Thumbs down
1. Expensive
     As compared to Lower Antelope Canyon, the tours for Upper Canyon is a bit more expensive.
     So be ready to shell out more for this canyon.

2. Darker
    The best time interval to tour the Upper Antelope Canyon is from 10 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., when the
    sun is right above our head. But, as it has narrow canyon walls at the top, it is darker than the  

    Lower Canyon.

   

Lower Antelope Canyon
Lower Antelope Canyon is comparatively bigger than the Upper one. It is narrow at the bottom and wide at the top, making it brighter and warmer than the Upper Canyon.

There are mainly providers of Lower Antelope Tour
- Ken's Tours
- Dixie Ellis Lower Antelope Canyon Tours

Thumbs Up
1. Longer and Bigger
    As Lower Antelope Canyon is bigger and longer than the Upper one, you get more time to
    experience and feel the beauty of the vibrant colors of the Canyon walls and also click pics.

    Also you get to see more structures and formations than the Upper Canyon.

2. Slightly less Expensive and Crowded
    Well, I would say that in terms of crowd there is not much difference between both the Canyons
     but still Lower Antelope Canyon is comparatively less crowded.

    Also it is atleast $10 cheaper than the Upper Canyon.

Thumbs down
1. Narrow and Congested
    The Lower Antelope Canyon is narrow at the bottom which makes it is a little congested to pass
    through, especially when it is crowded. But if you are not bothered by small and enclosed spaces
    then it won’t be a big concern. 

2. Stairs
    You need to take stairs to get into the Canyon and also there are few of them while you are walking
    through the canyon. It might be an issue for the children and elderly people and those who have     

    mobility limitation.

3. No light Beam
    It was the light beam pic which made Antelope Canyon world famous, but you can find that only
    in Upper Antelope Canyon. As the Lower Antelope Canyon is wide at the top, the possibility of a 

    seeming light beam is nearly impossible here.

Final Conclusion
Both the Canyons are incredibly beautiful and will provide you with a lifetime experience.
But, if you are looking for the beam of light and are a professional photographer, I would suggest you to visit Upper Antelope Canyon.

But if you are not much concerned about the beam of light, but want to experience the canyon more closely, want to touch and feel the walls and vibrant colors of the Canyon, Lower Antelope Canyon is a better option.

If you have time, I will recommend to visit them both on the same day..!!

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Grand Canyon - Natural Wonder of the World..!!

Grand Canyon Overview
Grand Canyon or Grand Canyon National Park is the 15^th oldest national park of United States. It was named UNESCO world heritage site in 1979.
Situated in Arizona, this magnificent steep sided canyon will blow your mind and make you say “WOW” at every instance you have a glance of it.

This enormous beauty is 277 miles long, up to 18 miles wide and attains a depth of over a mile.
Grand Canyon is evolving from last 17 million years and will continue to evolve in the future too.

Grand Canyon Rims
There are basically 3 rims that are open to tourism.
1. West Rim
2. South Rim
3. North Rim

The most popular among them is the South Rim, followed by West Rim and in the end North Rim.
From Vegas, South Rim takes minimum 5 hours drive, North Rim is 4 and half hours away while West Rim approximately takes 2 hours.
As we were short of time so we decided to explore the West Rim of Grand Canyon.

Activities to do in Grand CanyonApart from sightseeing, the other popular activities include rafting in Colorado River, hiking and helicopter tours.

Tourism in West RimWe drove all the way from Vegas to the Grand Canyon West entrance as no private vehicles are permitted past the entrance.

The Grand Canyon West Rim is open to the public from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm daily from October through March, and from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm daily from April through September. It is open every day of the year including all major holidays.
Best season to visit is late fall during spring.

Major points in West Rim include the following -:

1.  Grand Canyon Skywalk
      Grand Canyon Skywalk is one of the major attractions in West Rim.
      It is a semi-circular transparent glass floor which extends 70 feet above the Canyon’s rim. It is 10
      feet wide and has 4-6 feet high glass wall at the edges.  It allows visitor to get a stunning view of 

       Canyon floor which is 4000 feet below.

      The only con of this attraction is personal cameras and mobile phones are not allowed on the
      Skywalk. Lockers are provided to the visitors and professional photographers are available to take
      your pictures which are available later for purchase. 

2. Eagle Point
    Apart from the Skywalk, you can also get an incredible view of the Grand Canyon from the space
    available at the side of the Skywalk.
    So get your DSLRs ready because you won’t be able to resist yourself from clicking the amazingly
    big, deep and beautiful Grand Canyon.

3. Guano Point
     Guano Point provides spectacular views of Grand Canyon, even more amazing than the Eagle
     point. Highpoint Hike, an easy trail to the top provides awe-inspiring 360° panoramic views of the

     Grand Canyon and the Colorado River. 

     Believe me when I say this, “For a moment the world came to a stop, time seemed to freeze, my
     eyes were glued, agape, I was just feeling the awesomeness I have landed in, pure bliss and  

      pleasure were felt deep down.

4. Hualapai Ranch
     Hualapai Ranch is home to Native American and cowboy demonstrations.
     Everything here is built in a way to give you a feel of the town where cowboys stay.
     You can play different games, learn how to rope, quick draw, shot like a cowboy and ride a horse
     along the rim.
     There is also an option to stay overnight in the cabins facing the canyon rim.





Tourist packages

There are different packages available for the visitors
1. A $50 package includes a visit to all the points except Skywalk.
2. Add extra $25 to the above package and you can get a pass to the Skywalk.
3. There are helicopter rides which are available from Vegas or from the West Rim Entrance.
    Normally the helicopter tours are $100+.
4. If you wish to stay overnight at the Hualapai Ranch cabins it will cost you an extra 100 bucks.
5. Along with the helicopter ride if you also wish to have a boat ride in the Colorado River, it will
    cost you approximately 200 bucks.

6. One day whitewater rafting in Colorado River is going to cost you somewhere around 400 bucks.

    All the packages include the hop on and off shuttle rides which take you to different points.

Here are couple of videos of the Grand Canyon West Rim

Hope you like it :)

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