We arrived at the visitor’s center at Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and met Jean, our Navajo guide with Monument Valley Safari tours. They use trucks with open, covered seating for 12 for their tours.
In order to get into the back areas of the park, a Navajo guide is required, and like the South Antelope Canyon tour, the Navajo guide was invaluable for taking us to spots of interest to show us details that would have never been obvious, let alone being able to access.
Our first stop was by a famous rock pinnacle formation called The Three Sisters. This was a typical tourist type of stop that has a number of activities available. There was someone with horses for a photo op on the horse for a fee with the magnificent backgrounds provided at this area. There were numerous vendors selling Navajo crafts and jewelry, and snacks/water and restrooms available here.
We continued into the park, to the areas that are not accessible to the general public unless taken with a Navajo guide. Along the way, Jean pointed out rock formations that resembled such things as the profile of a sleeping dragon, a Thunderbird on a rock face that even included an image of Elvis, if one tried really hard to see it.
We stopped at an area that had petroglyphs, where there was a Navajo Elder that explained the images of animals on the rock face. He also gave us a demonstration of the Navajo language by describing the petroglyph images in his native tongue, an interesting highlight to the tour and the area we were in.
We continued on to several other stops with places of interest that included a rock formation with a large skylight hole in the high ceiling of a rock overhang that was used in the scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark where Indiana Jones is lowered into the tomb filled with snakes. There were several other stops that highlighted other rock formations with images and views. There were several views that were used in famous Westerns, or other movies; indeed, after returning home and viewing some of these movies, the areas that we were at were highly recognizable.
On the way out we stopped at a small Navajo village that included a visit inside a Navajo Hogan home where one can see how these structures are constructed and their functionality used for the desert heat or cold. There was a Navajo woman inside the Hogan that demonstrated how wool was carded, cleaned and spun on a hip spindle for use in weaving. It was interesting to see how wool can be turned from a raw material into something that can be dyed and woven into a variety of objects. There were examples of the various materials used to make dyes for the wool, as well as pieces in various stages of completion to demonstrate the weaving process. There were some completed piece for sale as well.
From there, we returned to the visitor’s center before returning to our hotel. The visitor’s center is quite large and has a large selection of souvenirs and t-shirts for sale, as well as exhibits about the history of Monument Valley.
Monument Valley Safari provided a comprehensive tour of Monument Valley that included history of the area and the Navajo people and was an outstanding way to experience this magnificent place. We felt that any other way to tour this park would be lacking for detail provided by the Navajo people that we encountered on the tour.
For these reasons, I would highly recommend Monument Valley Safari to provide a tour of Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park when visiting this treasure of the Southwest.