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Arizona and the Grand Canyon
Price: £9.45
One of the world's greatest natural wonders, it's often said that everyone should see the Grand Canyon at least once in his or her lifetime. But there's much more to Arizona than spectacular geology. Watch a gunfight at the OK Corral; drive the 'mother road', Route 66, and eat at a roadside diner where time stopped still in the 1950s; pan for gold or dig for precious minerals; see a Native American ceremony on a reservation; visit world-class museums; go down into a Cold War missile silo; take part in a cattle drive - this sumptuously illustrated guide tells you how, where and when, and a whole lot more.
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Created by the Colorado River over millions of years, the steep sided gorge is over 270 miles long, four to 18 miles wide and as much as a mile deep in places. Indeed, the sheer size and beauty of the place will leave you both awestruck and humbled.

The Grand Canyon is located in northern Arizona with the closest airports being in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Flagstaff, and Grand Canyon Airport in Tusayan, just south of the Grand Canyon National Park. Directions by road are available from the National Park Service along with camping and other information, but some of the best views of the canyon are from Desert View Drive (Highway 64) which follows the canyon rim for 26 miles east of Grand Canyon Village to Desert View, the east entrance to the park.

If you are staying in Las Vegas and want a bird’s eye view of the Grand Canyon, a numbr of helicopter packages are available. Pick of the lot has to be the Platinum Grand Canyon Helicopter Flight.

Not only will you be transferred to and from your hotel in a limousine, you'll take to the sky in a state-of-the-art Eco Star Helicopter with all forward facing, theatre style seating and stereo aviation headsets with voice activated passenger to passenger and passenger to pilot intercom. You will also descend to the Canyon floor where you'll enjoy a picnic lunch with three gourmet platters and champagne!

For the complete Grand Canyon experience, you could do no better than book a seat on the Grand Canyon Voyager - To The Edge & Beyond! - fantastic value at £244.00 per adult and £232.00 per child for a day you'll never forget.

After being picked up from your hotel, you will fly to the Grand Canyon aboard a twin otter plane, taking in the Hoover Dam en route. Then you are transferred to a waiting helicopter for the 4,000 foot descent into the depths of the canyon and the opportunity to explore the Grand Canyon floor by foot.

You then get to experience the Grand Canyon from the Colorado River while taking a leisurely boat excursion.

On the short trip back to the plane, you'll also get to visit native Hualapai Indians and enjoy a light meal before your scenic return flight to Las Vegas by plane.

The only other ways of reaching the floor of the valley is by hiking or on the back of a mule, or by boat or raft from upriver.

Grand Canyon Trail Rides offer mule trips from mid-May to mid-October from the north rim, lasting from an hour (US$30) to a full day (US$125).

For those who would rather take to the water, the Grand Canyon offers everything from whitewater rafting to gentle paddle steamers, while 35 foot long “baloney boats” with outboard engines make the trip from Lee’s Ferry to Diamond Creek in about six days.

For those on a budget, a Grand Canyon Coach Trip to the south rim offers spectacular views of the Canyon, aklthough you won't decend to the Canyon floor. You will however stop off at the Hoover Dam, Yavapai Point and the famous Bright Angel Lodge, and the coach will pick you up and drop you off at your hotel in Vegas. Tickets can be bought before you go at £60 per adult and £47 per child including lunch.

Over four million people visit the Grand Canyon every year, with the hot summer months being most popular. The winter months are naturally quieter, but the weather can be horrendous with heavy snowfalls on the north rim. Spring and autumn can be unpredictable with sudden weather changes common.

Something to note though. The north rim or what most people will view as “the other side” of the Grand Canyon is visited by barely 10% of the canyon’s visitors, and so if it’s peace and solitude that you’re after a shuttle bus runs from the south to the north rim between May and October. North rim summer temperatures are cooler than those on the south rim which is a bonus, but always bear in mind that inner canyon temperatures are extreme and often exceed 100°F.