North America is much less popular among Russian tourists compared to the countries of Europe and Asia. Some travelers are put off by the long flight across the ocean, while others are put off by high prices. And besides, thanks to Hollywood, in the minds of many, the USA is huge cities and skyscrapers or small, calm (and boring) towns with the same type of two-story houses. However, America also has something to boast about in terms of natural attractions, many of which can amaze to the core.
It is impossible to cover everything at once in one article, so we will present here only the most interesting and popular places. They are selected here in such a way that they can be visited in one trip. All of them are located in neighboring states – Arizona, Utah, California and Nevada.
Grand Canyon
The Grand Canyon is undoubtedly America’s most famous natural landmark and proudest landmark. It is inferior to some other canyons in its beauty, but certainly wins in terms of size and majesty – just think about it, its length is almost 450 kilometers, its width reaches 30 kilometers, and its depth is more than 2 kilometers! To see the Grand Canyon in all its glory, you can take a helicopter tour and fly over it from above or look at it from one of the observation decks, while the canyon looks completely different from different sides.
If the view from above is not enough, you can go down to its bottom. Again, the easiest and fastest way is to pay for a helicopter tour, but the most sporting way is to go on a walking trek. This walk takes more than 10 hours and, as a rule, includes an overnight stay below, because it is almost impossible to complete this hike in one day, especially in the summer, when it’s hot. An intermediate option between helicopter and pedestrian trekking is descending on horseback, this method is also popular.
Antelope Canyon
Against the backdrop of the giant Grand Canyon, Antelope Canyon looks like a baby, but that doesn’t stop it from being fantastic and unrealistically beautiful! This is one of the most unusual and fascinating canyons in America – it is not visible from the outside, it is located in a crevice, and the entrance looks like a narrow crack in the ground, which you can easily pass by without noticing if you go without an accompanying person. But as soon as you go down, your heart literally skips a beat with delight!
Nature has been working on this creation for thousands of years and the result is truly a masterpiece. It is very difficult to describe it in words and even photographs cannot convey all its beauty. This is a place that you must see with your own eyes.
It is best to go down into the canyon at certain hours, when the rays of the sun fall through the crevice at a special angle and illuminate the canyon from the inside. It is at such moments that a special and completely magical atmosphere reigns here.
By the way, on a hot summer day this canyon has another significant advantage – throughout the day it is quite cool inside and you can take a break from the heat.
You cannot get into Antelope Canyon without a guide – the fact is that on rainy days a lot of water gets there, and since this canyon is very deep, it is quite difficult to quickly return from it to the surface. One of these unexpected floods, which happened about 20 years ago, claimed the lives of several people. Therefore, security issues are approached very strictly here.
Death Valley
Death Valley is another cult place, to which many legends are dedicated and which attracts increased attention from tourists. This is what good marketing means – just give the place an intriguing name and popularity is guaranteed =)
But this place received its unusual name not because of the high mortality rate, as it might seem, but because of the sparse vegetation and poor fauna – there are practically no inhabitants in Death Valley and almost nothing grows. However, according to one legend, the valley received its gloomy name due to the death of one of the members of a group of gold miners trying to overcome the desert, so everyone can choose the history of the name to their liking.
The area of Death Valley is very large; In order to thoughtfully, without haste and fuss, explore all the interesting places, it is better to set aside a couple of days for a visit there, although if time is very pressing, then you can gallop around everything in a day.
You shouldn’t think that there’s nothing to see in such a disastrous place; the variety of natural attractions here is impressive! Salt Lake and sand dunes, moving rocks and the ghost town of Rhyolite, the Artist’s Palette and the Devil’s Golf Course, as well as a desert, a volcano, breathtaking landscapes and dozens of kilometers of scenic roads.
Sequoia Park
As you might guess from the name, Sequoia National Park has gained popularity thanks to its giant sequoias – 5 of the largest trees in the world grow here. The largest of these, the General Sherman tree, is so huge that it would take approximately 14 men to wrap around it at the base.
To make it even easier to estimate the size of the tree, imagine that it would take up three lanes if they suddenly decided to build a highway through it. And to estimate its height, imagine that if the tree were cut down, it would not fit on a football field.
In addition, there are more interesting specimens in the park – for example, a tree lying across the road, in which a tunnel for cars was cut; apparently it was easier to do this than to remove it completely. There are smaller trees; they have passages for people.
There are many hiking routes in the park—people also come here to make trekking trips of varying lengths: from half an hour to several days.
Monument Valley
Monument Valley is located on the territory of the Navajo Indian tribe reservation. If this is not the most recognizable natural place in America, it is certainly one of the most popular.
It is here that the famous road disappears into the rocks, which has appeared more than once in Westerns, and the monuments themselves often appear in films and are “starred” in advertising.
It is best to approach Monument Valley at dawn – it is at this time that the view will be most impressive thanks to the illuminated rocks. But the monuments themselves look best at sunset – the sun illuminates them favorably, and dozens of people come to the observation deck every day to see this.
Bryce Canyon
Bryce Canyon is completely different from other American canyons. As in many other places, one question involuntarily arises here – how? How could nature create such a miracle? What had to happen here over the centuries for this creation to form? And why is there literally a hundred kilometers from here other canyons that look completely different?
Bryce Canyon consists of many bizarrely shaped rock masses of various shades – from soft pink to bright red, and many of them even have their own names, received due to their similarity with certain objects.
Bryce Canyon is best admired from the observation decks, but, unlike the Grand Canyon, it is not that deep, so if you wish, it is quite easy to go down here and walk along its bottom, among the red rocks Here, too, there are trekking routes of varying difficulty, some of them simple, so everyone can find a suitable option.
Americans really love and appreciate their natural beauty, many enjoy spending weekends in national parks – there you can meet people of completely different ages, including retirees and couples with infants. And frankly, they can be understood – there really are a lot of amazing places here, so when choosing a place for your next vacation, the option of a trip to the USA can be safely considered not only by lovers of big cities and casinos, but also by nature lovers!
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