The HAVASUPAI RESERVATION really is another world. A 1930s anthropologist called it "the only spot in the United States where native culture has remained in anything like its pristine condition"; things have changed a little since then, but the sheer magic of its turquoise waterfalls and canyon scenery makes this a very special place. Traditionally, the Havasupai would spend summer on the canyon floor and winter on the plateau above. However, when the reservation was created in 1882, they were only granted land at the bottom of the canyon, and not until 1975 did the concession of another 251,000 acres up above make it possible for them to resume their ancient lifestyle.

Havasu Canyon is a side canyon of the Grand Canyon, about 35 miles as the raven flies from Grand Canyon Village, but almost two hundred miles by road. Turn off the interstate at Seligman or Kingman, onto AZ-66, which curves north between the two, stock up with food, water and gas, and then turn on to Arrowhead Hwy-18. Plans to build a road - or even a tramway - down into Havasu Canyon have always been rejected, in part because much of the income of the five or six hundred Havasupai comes from guiding visitors on foot, mule or horseback. Instead, the road ends at Hualapai Hilltop , from where an eight-mile trail zigzags down a bluff and leads through the stunning waterless Hualapai Canyon to the village of SUPAI . Riding down costs $50 one-way, $80 round-trip, while hiking is free; all visitors, however, pay a $15 entry fee on arrival at Supai.

Beyond Supai the trail becomes more difficult, but leads to a succession of spectacular waterfalls, including Havasu Falls , one of the best for swimming, and Mooney Falls , which was named after an unfortunate prospector who dangled here for three days in the 1890s, at the end of a snagged rope, before falling to his death.

A campground (tel 928/448-2141) stretches between Havasu and Mooney Falls, and Supai itself holds the motel -like Havasupai Lodge (tel 928/448-2111; summer $75-100, winter $50-75), along with a café , a general store and the only post office in the US still to receive its mail by pack train. From time to time Supai is hit by freak floods, which can result in the temporary closure of the campground and hotel.

Havasupai Reservation

• Havasupai Reservation

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