Canyon de Chelly (commonly pronounced de shay) has been home to many peoples over the last thousands of years. As with all the canyons, the perspective gained from the inside of the canyon is completely different to that obtained from the rim.

William, a Navajo (local Native American tribe who are the most recent (~300 years) inhabitants of the canyon) guide, took us for a tour through the canyon in a 4WD. He was an excellent guide, stopping for us to take photos, answering our questions, telling us about the history of the canyon. The only way to see the inside of the canyon is on a guided tour because it is Navajo land.

In the canyon were petroglyphs, and buildings from around 1200AD, built by the Anasazi, the earliest known residents of the canyon. Most of the buildings were built in caves in the canyon wall, and many looked impossible to get to except by ladder. William said some have suggested that canyon floor was a lot higher 600 years ago and has eroded since. It is unknown why the Anasazi deserted the canyon. There were buildings in many places around the canyon, and after the tour we saw others from the canyon rim. The sheer walls of the canyon certainly added to it appeal, and we thought the tour through the canyon was the highlight of the holiday.

All good things come to an end, and we were soon back on the road driving towards our third state for the trip, Utah. Ken had located the accomodation for he night to ensure that we would have enough time to see Canyon de Chelly, and in the late afternoon we drove through some more amazing scenery, including buttes sticking out of the landscape. As night fell we drove through the Monument Valley National Monument, which features geological formations used in many movies, and scenery very typical of Arizona/Southern Utah. There was not time to stop and see Monument Valley, which will have to wait for the next visitors!