Now, to ensure visitor safety (and to prevent vandalism to this sacred site), all hikers must be accompanied through these canyons with a trained and experienced guide. It has been this way since 1997 when the Navajo Tribe officially declared it a Navajo Tribal Park, and the same year a flash flood through the canyons tragically killed 11 hikers. (If you want to visit the Upper canyon though, you have a wider selection of tour providers to choose from.) If you want to visit these sites you can only do so with a trained tour guide, and only the two companies above have authorization to run tours to Lower Antelope Canyon. Tours are mandatoryīecause Lower Antelope Canyon is a sacred site protected by Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation, visiting the canyon on your own is strictly prohibited. You can still find photography tours for the Upper canyon, but both Lower Antelope Canyon tour operators have done away with them. However, Navajo Nation significantly cut back on the allowance of those due to the frequent bottlenecks inside the canyons caused by the multitude of tripods and all the time photographers spent setting up shots, etc. Photo © Tim Van Der Linden Lower Antelope Canyon photography toursĪntelope Canyon tour operators used to offer photography tours in addition to the general sightseeing tours. Read on to learn more about the lower canyon to see if it’s a better fit for you! Read also: What to Pack for Arizona in the Winter (& What I Wish I’d Brought) And who doesn’t like to save money? The tours through Lower Antelope Canyon cost $50 per person for the regular tour, whereas the most basic tours for the Upper canyon are almost twice that. It’s also cheaper to visit Lower Antelope Canyon than it is the Upper canyon. That means even if you’re in sold out tour groups like I was, it’s still a fairly intimate experience. There are actually fewer companies that visit Lower Antelope Canyon and they travel in smaller groups as well. This isn’t just because of the one-way traffic, however. Speaking of crowds, Lower Antelope Canyon is far less crowded than the much more famous Upper Canyon. This means you won’t have to contend with the crowded return traffic while making your way through the slot canyon. You enter from one side and exit from the other. The biggest part of its appeal for me is that foot traffic only goes one way. However, if you only have time for one, Lower Antelope Canyon is better for a few reasons: It’s one-way

They have different looks and you’ll get a full experience seeing both versions. Let me begin by saying that if you’re enthusiastic about photography and have time for both tours, you should definitely consider visiting both Upper and Lower Antelope Canyon.

Ken's Tours Lower Antelope Canyon