Monument Valley, The Quintessential Dessert Landscape Defining the American West

Monument Valley located at South-eastern Utah, Moab

Monument Valley is an area of sandstone rock formations rising majestically up to 300 meter (1,000 ft) from the desert floor, providing one of the most enduring images of the American West. These isolated red mesas and buttes, surrounded by vast, empty desert, have been filmed and photographed countless times, giving the visitor a sense of familiarity, but once in the valley you cannot fail to be amazed at the true vivid, deep, rich color palette of this other worldly landscape.

Lying entirely within the Navajo Indian Reservation near the south-eastern corner of Utah, the most famous landmarks are concentrated around the small town of Goulding. This isolated settlement, 175 miles (250 km) from the nearest city - Flagstaff, Arizona - was established in 1923 as an Indian trading post, and is now home to a comprehensive range of visitor services.

The view from the visitor centre is spectacular enough, but the majority of the park can only be seen from the Valley Drive, a 17-miles (27 km) road. Winding among the magical towering cliffs and mesas including The Totem Pole, a stunning 300 feet (91 meters) rock spire only a few meters wide. As well as eroded rocks, this area is also home to a series of ancient cave and cliff dwellings, natural arches and petroglyphs.

Not a valley in the conventional sense, Monument Valley is actually a wide fiat, desolate landscape, interrupted by the crumbling formations, the final remnants of the sandstone layers that once covered the entire region. Monument Valley is the quintessential, spectacular, breathtaking Wild West.

Monument Valley is a Navajo Indian Tribal Park, not a national park, and an entrance fee is payable. Access on the reservation is very restricted. Do not take pictures of the Native Americans or their property without permission, and, if permission is granted, expect to pay a tip. Best time to visit is between April to November.