Sandstone buttes of the Navajo Nation
Monument Valley's sandstone buttes and mesas rise hundreds of metres above the desert floor, the image of the American West since John Ford filmed his Westerns here. It is a Navajo Tribal Park rather than a national park, and the 27 km Valley Drive is a rough dirt loop past the Mittens and Merrick Butte. Navajo-guided tours reach areas closed to independent visitors and bring the landscape's stories and history. Stay for sunset and sunrise, when the rock glows deep red, and pair it with Page and Antelope Canyon.