Canyon
The labyrinth called Canyon de Chelly is really several canyons, which include Canyon de Chelly and Canyon del Muerto. At the mouth of the canyon the rock walls are only 30 feet high. Deeper into the canyons, to the east, the walls rise dramatically until they reach more than 1,000 feet above the floor. The cliffs rise straight up, overshadowing the streams, cottonwoods, and small farms below. It has taken about 2 million years and volumes of water to etch these stone paths through the layers of sandstone and igneous rock as the Defiance Plateau pushed its way upward. Today, the canyon still beckons us, with its towering stone monoliths and its ledges bearing the open windows of ancient people.

Permit Information
Hiking within the canyon requires a Park Service permit and an authorized Navajo guide. To drive on the canyon bottom, a 4-wheel drive vehicle, a Park Service permit and an authorized Navajo guide are required.

Directions
Visitors can only descend to the canyon with a Navajo guide. The White House Ruin Trail is the only exception.

Information Center
The visitor center is located outside of the canyon at the junction of North and South Rim Drives on Hwy. 7, three miles east of Chinle.

Activities