Three major cascades at Havasu Creek create a landscape that is both beautiful and entertaining. At the base of these falls, one of which is Havasu Falls, is a travertine pool filled with cold turquoise water. In fact, the names of the falls, the nearby lake, and even the city all come from the water’s beautiful color. (“Ha” means water, while “vasu” stands for blue-green).

Located on the Havasupai Indian Reservation in Grand Canyon National Park, Havasu Falls stand 120 feet high. The falls claims one of America’s most beautiful campgrounds and backpacking area. For example, beneath the falls lies billowing cottonwoods under 400-foot rock walks which, along with the falling water, creates a striking lullaby for campers.

Although beautiful, getting to Havasu Falls can be quite an adventure. The most popular route begins in Seligman, where drivers can take I-40 to exit 123. After exiting, visitors should drive 33 miles west on Highway 66 to Indian Road 18. At this point, drivers should turn right and drive about 60 miles to a parking lot at Hualapai Hilltop at the end of the road. Alternatively, drivers can access Indian Road 18 via Kingman by driving 50 miles east on Highway 66, which is approximately 6 miles past Peach Springs.

A visit to the falls entails more than just a long drive, however. Once visitors are a Hualapai Hilltop, the journey really begins. Visitors must endure a 10-mile hike from the hilltop to the falls. While the first 1.5 miles is a steep decent down to the bottom of Hualapai Canyon (a trek that you must make back up on your way home), the rest of the hike is mostly flat. Tourists will hike 6.5 more miles to the Hualapai village, followed by 2 more miles to the campground.

Although a trip to the falls includes hours of driving and even more hours of hiking, most would agree that the pristine setting is worth it.

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This article is written by Punshil Kumar, based in Delhi

To ward off the stifling summer heat of Delhi, my two daughters in America insisted that we join them. They are putting up in Bowie and Virginia. I left for the United States of America (USA) in April with my wife. We got a warm and affectionate welcome from our daughters who received us in New York. All of us then headed to Washington. Initially we stayed in Bowie and enjoyed a lot. We usually shuttled between the two houses. During my stay there we went to see the White House and also visited several Chinese and Thai restaurants. We also enjoyed going to pizza shops because the children loved to do so. On every Saturday I used to accompany my daughters to Indian stores for their grocery shopping. Once we also visited the children’s school to attend their graduation function. We were stunned to see the spectacular fireworks on July 4, the American Independence Day. We spread a sheet on the pavement along with others and enjoyed crackers, which sprouted into flowers of different colours in the sky. With a friend of my son-inlaw, I went to Pennsylvania and stayed in his house for two days. I went to New York twice and stayed with my brother-in-law in Hopewell Junction, a suburb of New York. I also visited Seattle with my wife and brother-in-law, and we stayed there for a week, and visited several lakes and went to see Mount Rainier. I also visited Ocean City and we stayed there for three days in a rented house and enjoyed the sun and sand on the beach. My younger daughter is a beautician and a very social person. Her friends used to come home and we had a lot of fun in their company. They celebrated my birthday also. Unlike India, in USA there are no shops in residential establishments and thus people go to wholesale and retail stores for grocery, fruits, milk and vegetables mostly on Saturdays and store the stuff in the pantry and refrigerator. Most of the families in USA do not cook and bring stuff from nearby restaurants, to save them from cleaning the kitchen. Some families do cook in their houses, but to save time they also bring ready to cook things, which are now available in plenty. Another interesting thing I noted here was that the morning walkers are often greeted with a hello. This brews a very happy feeling within, as it comes from absolute strangers in a foreign land. It was definitely a memorable holiday.

Punshil Kumar

17 Sept 2011

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Average Rating: 4.9 out of 5 based on 280 user reviews.

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