Havasu Falls

About

Havasu Falls owes its color to chemistry. Havasu Creek runs thick with calcium carbonate, and as the water drops roughly 90 to 100 feet off a red sandstone cliff, that mineral turns it a saturated turquoise and coats the terraces below in chalky travertine. The pools hold their blue-green year-round because the creek is spring-fed rather than snowmelt, so the falls look much the same in January and July. It sits deep on the Havasupai reservation, about 1.5 miles below the village of Supai and roughly 10 miles from the nearest road. Reaching it is the whole commitment. Every visitor needs a reservation permit (around $455 per person for the required three nights of camping), and they sell out within minutes when they open February 1. The hike starts at Hualapai Hilltop and drops about 2,000 feet through the canyon. No day trips are allowed.

Highlights

Getting there