the popular city in usa,phoenix

Phoenix Travel Guide

Arizona’s capital city, Phoenix, has risen from the mythical ashes of an ancient agricultural Indian village to become a sprawling modern metropolis, the sixth largest city in the USA. Its rapid urban growth has filled what is known as the ‘Valley of the Sun’, encompassing the neighbouring towns of Scottsdale, Mesa and Tempe as suburbs and is America’s fastest-growing urban centre, claiming to have more 5-star hotels than any other city in the USA. With luxurious resorts and spas, glitzy shopping plazas, upmarket restaurants and superb golf courses, together with over 300 days of sunshine a year, the area has become a popular winter getaway for the rest of the country. Phoenix’s greatest attraction however is its location, surrounded by a vast cactus-studded desert and the magnificent scenery of the Red Rock Country around nearby Sedona, whose landscape of canyons, pinnacles and red cliffs have been the setting for numerous ‘Wild West’ films and novels. The Apache Trail is a winding scenic drive that passes through some of the beautiful rugged terrain of central Arizona, passing ghost towns, ancient ruins and the Superstitious Mountains.

Phoenix Excursions
The Grand Canyon

A mile deep, 277 miles (446km) long and up to 18 miles (29km) wide the breathtaking grandeur of the Grand Canyon is so impressive that pictures or words simply cannot do it justice. One of the great natural wonders of the world, it was formed by the cutting action of the Colorado River over millions of years. The hard rock formations survive as great cliffs, pinnacles and buttes, and the different layers of rock span a range of colours: from purple, fiery-red and pastel-pink, to yellow, brown, grey and soft tones of blue. Whether by foot or on horseback, from a plane or helicopter, aboard a raft down the mighty Colorado River or by merely gazing in awe from the rim, the canyon’s seemingly infinite depths can be experienced in a variety of ways and is a sight not to be missed, however one chooses to see it. The park receives hoards of visitors from around the world, who cannot fail to be transfixed by the sculpted rock shapes, the shifting colours that change with the light and a tiny glimpse of the Colorado River far below. The Grand Canyon National Park comprises two separate areas: the South Rim and the more remote North Rim. Separated by the 10-mile (16km) width of the canyon, it is a 215-mile (346km) drive from one Visitor Centre to the other. The South Rim is the most accessible and has more facilities, and as a result it attracts the bulk of visitors to its boundaries. The North Rim is higher in elevation, wetter, with thicker surrounding forests, is further to access, and is cut off by snowfall from October to May. Many people however prefer its comparative peacefulness and less-crowded lookouts. Both rims have numerous drives and walkways along the edge with various scenic viewpoints and some hiking trails into the canyon where one can overnight at Phantom Ranch on the canyon floor. The impact of the more than four million visitors a year to the South Rim, especially during the busy summer months, is one of overcrowding and traffic congestion; but to see for oneself one of the most spectacular examples of natural erosion in the world more than makes up for the inconvenience.