Hualapai Tourism

Hualapai Tourism Review

At the Welcome Center, Hualapai Tourism, run by the Hualapai Tribe, offers the basic Hualapai Legacy tour package ($43.05 per person, including taxes and fees), which includes a Hualapai visitation permit and "hop-on, hop-off" shuttle transportation to three sites. Local Hualapai guides and roaming "ambassadors" add a Native American perspective to a canyon trip that you won't find on North and South Rim tours.

The shuttle will take you to Eagle Point, where the Indian Village walking tour visits authentic dwellings. Educational displays there uncover the culture of five different Native American tribes (Havasupai, Plains, Hopi, Hualapai, and Navajo), and intertribal, powwow-style dance performances entertain visitors at the nearby amphitheater. The shuttle also goes to Hualapai Ranch, site of Western performances, cookouts, horseback and wagon rides, and the only lodging on the West Rim; and Guano Point, where the "High Point Hike" offers panoramic views of the Colorado River.

For extra fees, you can add meal tickets (there are cafes at each of the three stops), overnight lodging at Hualapai Ranch, a helicopter trip into the canyon, a boat trip on the Colorado, a horseback ride along the canyon rim, or a walk on the Skywalk.

At this writing, a three-level, 6,000-square-foot visitor center was under construction at the site. The date of completion is currently uncertain, but eventually this complex is expected to include a museum, movie theater, gift shop, and at least two restaurants.

Grand Canyon Skywalk. The Skywalk, which opened in 2007, is a cantilevered glass terrace suspended nearly 4,000 feet above the Colorado River and extends 70 feet from the edge of the Grand Canyon. Approximately 10 feet wide, the bridge's deck, made of tempered glass several inches thick, has 5-foot glass railings on each side creating an unobstructed open-air platform. Admission to the skywalk is a separate add-on to the basic Grand Canyon West admission. Visitors must store personal items, including cameras, cell phones, and video cameras, in lockers before entering. A professional photographer takes photographs of visitors, which can be purchased from the gift shop. 86434. www.hualapaitourism.com. $29.95.