Monument Valley is the West the way the cinema invented it. The free-standing red rock towers rise from the flat desert, and hardly any place looks as much like America as this one. Whoever arrives here has seen the image a hundred times before and still stands in front of it open-mouthed.
Land of the Navajo
The valley lies in the land of the Navajo and is managed by them as a Tribal Park, not by the National Park Service. The admission goes directly to the Navajo Nation. That makes the place special: you are on their land, with their stories.
The Valley Drive
A rough gravel track, the roughly 27-kilometer Valley Drive, leads in a loop right in among the rocks. You are allowed to drive it in your own car, slowly and carefully. Anyone who wants to go deeper into the valley, to corners closed to self-drivers, books a tour with a local Navajo guide.
It all comes down to the light
Early morning and late afternoon turn the towers into long shadows and glowing red. At midday everything looks flatter and harsher. If you can, stay overnight and experience sunset and sunrise over the Mittens.
The most famous view
North of the park, on Highway 163, lies the Forrest Gump Point. The dead-straight road running towards the rock towers is one of the most photographed sights in the USA.
