Havasupai Falls — Havasupai Indian Reservation — March 2018

Max Berger
Travel Yung
Published in
4 min readDec 28, 2018

As a self-confirmed nature geek, it’s hard for me to articulate a full opinion on how Instagram has effected some of the go-to spots of the American Southwest. Most of the times these spots are not all that they’re chalked up to be. Once you see Horseshoe Bend in person, it’s obvious that it is an average view of the Colorado River, but an above-average photo-opp if you have wide lens and the patience to put up with the hordes of tourists.

The reason I bring this up is because the Supai region and the area that includes Havasupai falls is one of those places that Instagram and the internet has either ruined or exposed, depending on your Point of View. However, it is also the only place brought to fame by Instagram that is totally worth it, and is actually as beautiful as all the pictures online lead you to believe. You constantly see pictures of the deep turquoise water flowing and falling against the red rocks and…it looks fake! I had to find out for myself.

Permit Process

The process to get to Havasupai is not as straight forward as your typical National Park lottery. The canyon is in Supai tribal land (where the tribe has lived for hundreds of years), and they have their own way of doing things. Although objectively worse in every possible way (price, user experience, etc), I’m grateful that the natives allow people outside of the tribe to view and enjoy their sacred land.

The 1999 era website indicates that permits start on February 15th. I missed the part where it says they start at 8am Arizona time, wrongly assuming that CA and AZ were on the same time zone. Although I was only one hour late, it became clear very quickly that all of the best permits (April, May, September, October) were almost gone. I tried to get two permits for two nights on a variety of dates, and after many failed attempts, I ended up being forced to settle with one permit for one night in the beginning of March. I read that March is hit or miss due to weather, but at least it would be cool during the 10 mile hike down into the canyon.

The most unfortunate aspect about this whole process is the price. In total, the permit cost $78 per person per night, which can make it prohibitively expensive for just about everyone. The Trump administration recently tried to raise peak season prices at National Parks, and although it helps with congestion, the public fiercely denounced the decision citing the effects it will have on working class nature lovers. Havasupai shouldn’t be for upper class kids and YUPies, and i hope this gets changed soon.

The Hike

Neither the waterfalls, campgrounds, or village of Supai itself are accessible by road. They are all 10 miles down into a canyon that is, in typical Colorado Plateau fashion, made up of huge sandstone walls and buttes. You can either pay for a helicopter ($85 each way) or walk. Your gear can either be carried on your back or by mule (not sure about price). I obviously chose to walk my gear in and explore the canyon. 10 miles isn’t too long, and aside from the fist quarter mile where you descend a bunch of switchbacks into the canyon, it’s actually a beautiful stroll.

I got pretty lucky with the weather and had nothing but sunshine and high 70s in the forecast. About 9 miles in, you arrive at the village and have to check-in with the reservation office to get your permit that you then attach to your backpack and tent. The crumby website and reserve-by-phone system starts to make sense when you realize that this is a rural village doing the best they can to manage the overwhelming amount of attention.

Once You’re There

“Shit, the water IS actually that turquoise” Those were my first thoughts. You really can’t help but smile the first time you see Havasupai falls and the surrounding pools. It’s actually pretty cool because not only is it a beautiful place, but is packed with people who are happy to be where they are without any cell phone service. There are floaties out, benches, and hammocks and it feels like one giant PG pool party (there are families). The pictures tell a better story, so I’ll let them take it from here.

First view of Havasupai Falls
Yours truly, descending to Mooney Falls
Mooney Falls, which is a short walk from Havasupai falls. The climb down is a bitch sketchy, but doable for anyone that is willing to get onto a wet ladder. It’s definitely worth it.
I was practicing adjusting the shutter speed

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