The fact that these days most visits to the South Rim start at the Canyon View Information Plaza, at Mather Point , rather than in Grand Canyon Village, doesn't mean you're missing out. In fact the canyon panorama that spreads out below Mather Point is more comprehensive than any obtainable from the village. The views to the east in particular are consistently stupendous; it's hard to imagine a more perfect position from which to watch the sunrise over the canyon.

The Colorado is visible from various vantage points along the rim-edge footpath near Mather Point. In addition, if you walk west for around ten minutes - that is, turn left along the rim from the information plaza - you'll come to Yavapai Point . From here, you can see two separate tiny segments of the river, one of which happens to include both the suspension footbridge across the Colorado and Phantom Ranch. Nearby, if you can tear your eyes away from its panoramic bay windows, the Yavapai Observation Station (daily: summer 8am-7pm, winter 8am-5pm; free) has illuminating displays on how the canyon may have been formed.

The West and East Rim drives extend along the South Rim for several miles in either direction from the information plaza and Grand Canyon Village, paralleled by the paved Greenway Trail on the very lip of the canyon. No one overlook can be said to be the "best", but there are far too many to stop at them all. Obvious short walks include an excursion to see the sunset , which is particularly magical at Hopi Point, to the west.

Driving or taking a shuttle bus along the East Rim Drive opens up further dramatic views. Desert View , 23 miles out from the village, is, at 7500ft, the highest point on the South Rim. Visible to the east are the vast flatlands of the Navajo Nation ; to the northeast, Vermillion and Echo Cliffs , and the gray bulk of Navajo Mountain ninety miles away; to the west, the gigantic peaks of Vishnu and Buddha temples , while through the plains comes the narrow gorge of the Little Colorado . The odd-looking construction on the very lip of the canyon is Desert View Watchtower , built by Fred Harvey in 1932 in a conglomeration of Native American styles and decorated with Hopi pictographs. It contains a gift shop , as does the general store a few yards away. Groups of tarantulas are often seen in the evenings at Desert View, scuttling back into the warmth of the canyon for the night.

South Rim

• South Rim

Arizona cities


All U.S. city guides