Sunrise, sunset – the best times to see the Grand Canyon in all its glory! And our very first view was of the sunset – yes, we did make it – our drive ending with a mad dash from the parking lot to Mather Point. First impressions – stunned disbelief!! I have to admit – I was completely taken aback!! Not sure what I’d been expecting – but it certainly wasn’t this dramatic, imposing landscape of intricately carved sandstone as far as the eye could see. The last rays of the sun turning the rocks a fiery red fading into delicate pinks and oranges – we managed to catch the last final burst of color before the shadows crept in. Gorgeous!! Absolutely, breath-takingly gorgeous!!!

We were freezing by the time the sun disappeared – and we had to find our way to Maswik Lodge in near darkness. It was a little confusing, with several different lodges in the area, each with multiple buildings. After we finally checked-in, and made it to our room, we were ready to call it a night. The room itself was very basic – the main advantage of staying here was the accessibility to the South Rim and the trailheads. Dinner was cafeteria-style in the main hall of Maswik Lodge – again, a very limited menu, nothing really exciting. But we weren’t really expecting anything fancy, so no major disappointment. In hindsight, we could have probably stayed at the Holiday Inn or another resort located in Tusayan, which is about a 10 minute drive away from the park – especially since the one-time entrance fee to the park was valid for 7 days!

Next day – hiking into the Grand Canyon!! We only had the one day – so we couldn’t go all the way to the bottom to the river, camp overnight, and climb back. I’m sure Ajey would have loved to do that – not so sure if I could have actually managed that!! In any case, there are several trails that give you a taste of descending into the Canyon. There’s also the Rim Trail for the less adventurous, which goes along the rim of the canyon – name is pretty self-explanatory! The best part of this trail is that whenever you get tired, you could just take one of the shuttle buses back to your starting point. No such facility on the trails entering the canyon – as the hiking booklet wisely cautioned – going down is optional, coming up is not!!

The Bright Angel Trailhead was minutes away from our lodge, and our intention was to get down to the 3-Mile resthouse – from an elevation of 6840 feet at the trailhead down to 4720 feet, a roundtrip distance of about 6 miles. The trail is nice and easy, almost 4 feet wide at most places, and a steady gradual descent. No scrambling over rocks here!! It is almost unreal walking down the cliffs – even with the considerable amount of people, it was eerily quiet, the only sound the wind whipping through the canyon. I was careful not to get too close to the edge, didn’t want that vertigo kicking in!! To be honest, it felt very safe!!

The rock strata is even more interesting up close, with the different layers clearly visible. It is staggering to imagine that all this has been wrought over millions of years by a little river making its way to the sea!! As the day went on, the rocks changed color – the yellowish brown of early morning to a deep purplish-greenish hue at noon, and then the more familiar reds through the afternoon. It is as if time stands still here – and it is at once humbling and exhilirating. It took us a good 4 hours to get back to the Rim again – with Ajey and Manasi racing ahead of me on the way back!! There were quite a few moments when I thought I’ve had enough – but I kept going, and I’m glad I did!!

That evening, I wanted to go to the Desert View Watchtower – one of the highly recommended ‘sunset points’. We drove almost 30 miles to get there, stopping at a number of scenic outlooks on the way. We did get our first glimpse of the Colorado river from the Desert View, but overall, this was probably the least impressive view we’ve had so far. I think the sunset colors were far better from Mather point – and the cold, biting wind wasn’t helping! And although I really, really wanted to go see the sunrise from Hopi point – it was just too cold – I’m saving that for my next trip here!

If it’s not already, hiking into the Grand Canyon should definitely be in the top-ten of your bucket list!! What an amazing experience!! And now after soaking in all this natural splendour, we’re off to some wonders of civilisation!! Vegas is next – coming up soon!! One last picture of the Grand Canyon to end the post!!