Programme details:
This is an exciting 10-day, 9-night programme, introducing you to the Native American Indian people and taking you rafting, hiking and riding with them in their homeland. It includes 5 nights camping and one night in the famous "The View" Hotel, owned by the Navajo.
Day 1 Sat - Welcome to Colorado
Arrive into Durango Airport and drive to the beautiful 130-acre "Basecamp" ranch at Deer Hill in the south-western corner of Colorado for a welcome to the experience, outfitting and a tasty home-cooked meal.
Stay in our rustic but comfortable cabins with views over Mesa Verde National Park.
Day 2 Sun Raft trip on the San Juan
You start with a delicious home-cooked, south-western breakfast in the dining room. We then drive to nearby Shiprock, New Mexico, in the Northern Navajo Nation where we go on a Raft trip on the San Juan River, with Navajo guides. We take lunch on the river and in the evening, we'll enjoy traditional Navajo foods and an evening talk with a local family.
Overnight in our cabins at Basecamp.
Day 3 Mon Canyon de Chelly Hiking or Riding
Today, we drive over the scenic Lukachukai Pass to Canyon de Chelly National Monument, where we will camp for the next two nights. The Canyon is spectacularly scenic, rich in living Navajo history and ruins left by the "Ancestral Puebloans" who lived here 1000 years ago. In the afternoon, there is a choice of a guided hike or a guided horseback ride into a pristine and seldom seen archaeological site deep in the Canyon.
Overnight camping in the Park.
Day 4 Tues Canyon de Chelly Helping!
In the morning, we visit the Park Service museum and Visitor Centre. Then, enjoy a 4WD ride into historic Canyon Del Muerto, visiting some of the most renowned Ancestral Puebloan sites in the Southwest. At the end of our tour, we arrive at the home of a Navajo family which is re-establishing a traditional farm, to learn about their family history and way of life. We'll spend the afternoon working alongside the family on the farm, with sheer redrock sandstone canyon walls all around us.
Overnight camping in the Park.
Day 5 Wed Ganado, Arizona
After breakfast we make the short drive to Ganado, Arizona. We visit authentic Hubbell Trading Post, a national historic site. There is then an afternoon and evening visit with Milton Bluehouse, a former President of the Navajo Nation, learning about both traditional and contemporary issues.
Overnight camping in the reservation with nearby facilities in the Hopi Centre.
Day 6 Thu The Hopi Culture
Today, we head west across the Hopi mesas, where we visit an artist's workshop and gallery and the fascinating Hopi Cultural Centre and Museum. You see a demonstration of Hopi silversmithing.
Camp in Shungopavi Village, with an expansive view over the high desert of northern Arizona.
Day 7 Fri Visit Hopi villages
Today, we have a guided visit of the authentic villages dotted on these historic mesas, the longest continuously inhabited communities in North America. Ceremonial kivas sit alongside traditional mud plaster dwellings, and the views over the surrounding desert are stunning. If time permits, visit and work in traditional terraced vegetable gardens. In the evening there is a Kachina wood carving demonstration with Hopi artist, Kenny Quanimptewa.
Camp in Shungopavi Village.
Day 8 Sat Monument Valley
Heading west, we visit Lower Moenkopi (meaning "Many Springs" in Hopi), stopping at points of interest along the way, such as the Navajo Code Talkers Exhibit in Kayenta, Arizona. You can hike and photograph the World famous Monument Valley, the backdrop for many Western movies.
Stay in comfort at the Navajo-owned "The View" Hotel, the only hotel inside the Monument Valley Tribal Park and dine in their restaurant.
Day 9 Sun Parks and wine!
Enjoy the morning in Monument Valley Tribal Park; then drive north and east through Mexican Hat, stopping at the Goosenecks State Park for an incredible view of a desert river and last lunch on the road. We even find time for some afternoon wine-tasting in McElmo Canyon. In the evening there is a good home-cooked meal back at our Basecamp.
Overnight in our cabins at Basecamp.
Day 10 Mon - Departure
After breakfast, you can spend the last relaxing at Deer Hill together with the team, before departing from Durango Airport in the afternoon.
