ReZoom

When people first visit Havasu Falls, they often feel like their minds are playing tricks on them. Haven't they seen this place before? Or have they just seen pictures? Or is it just that the falls match an image that floats somewhere in the unconscious? Paradise. Shangri La. The Garden of Eden. We all carry visions of what these places are supposed to look like. And don't they all appear something like these falls on the Havasupai Indian Reservation, just outside the southwestern border of Grand Canyon National Park?

A Backdrop for Some Dreamy Movie
The classic punchbowl shape of the pool below the falls, the elegant arc of the falls themselves and the surrounding 1000-foot limestone cliffs – these are all crucial elements of this idyllic oasis. But the crowning detail that sets the falls apart is the color of the water, so brilliantly blue that it's almost surreal. This is what makes the falls appear like a fabrication of the mind or a backdrop for some dreamy movie, a place we're certain we've seen before.

The iridescent water comes from an unusually high lime content. The falls are not fed by snow melt or rain water, but by underground aquifers, where the water sits for many hundreds, even thousands of years, slowly absorbing lime and other minerals from the surrounding limestone. When the water emerges into the creeks that feed the falls, it takes on its brilliant aqua color.

Three Options, Ten Miles
That color is what draws people from all over the country and the globe to this remote corner of Arizona. Getting to the falls takes some determination. After driving for several hours through the desert, visitors are faced with three options for traveling the final 10 miles to the falls. The most straight-forward way is to simply put one foot in front of the other and hike. The main trail descends over 1,000 feet, passes through the Havasupai village of Supai, and then continues another two miles to the falls. Unfortunately, the hike doesn't have a lot going for it. It's hot, dusty and heavily trafficked by mule teams carrying supplies to Supai.

Other travel options include paying for a ride on said mules, or if you want to be really extravagant, taking a helicopter from the trailhead to Supai and then hiking or riding the last two miles to the falls.

The most popular time for visiting Havasu Falls is in late winter and early spring. During these times, the pool below the falls becomes a small beach resort, populated by snowbirds looking for a little desert sun. The high lime content of the water poses no threat to swimmers, and the water is just about the perfect temperature, not too cold and not too warm. It's an idyllic setting with the falls cascading down, the crazy blue water, and the sunshine – a setting perhaps best described with one word. Paradise.

Getting There:
Havasu Falls is located on the Havasupai Reservation, approximately 100 miles northeast of Kingman, Arizona. From Kingman, go east on Highway 66 for approximately 50 miles and exit on Highway 18. Follow Highway 18 until it dead ends at the Hualapai trailhead.

Lodging:
Camping is available in designated sites only, all of which are located approximately ¼ mile downstream from the falls. There is also a small lodge in the village of Supai. Call (520) 448-2121 for information on either the lodge or the campground.

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