Spended $ 900 to visit Havasupai Falls in the Grand Canyon region, it’s worth it

When I came across an Instagram photo of waterfalls in waterfalls on rocky red cliffs in turquoise pools, I knew that I had to know more about this magical place and how I could get there.

A quick search on the Internet led me to continue my dream list trip to Havasupai Falls.

Havasupai Falls, which refers to a series of superb waterfalls, bears the name of the Reserve of the First Nation tribe where they are located – in a remote corner of the Grand Canyon ecosystem, outside the jurisdiction of the National Park.

The first stage of the trip was to obtain reservations

The first part of my trip planning was to obtain permits to visit Havasupai Falls.

Unlike other popular hikes such as The Wave and Half Dome, which use recreation.gov to issue permits, Havasupai manage their own license process via their official website.

The management of Havasupai uses the term “reservation” instead of “permit” because the process involves reserving a physical space in camping grounds. Reservations cost $ 455 per person for the minimum reservation of three nights and four days.

Thanks to the Havasupai website, I created an account and access the cancellation and transfer list, which allows visitors to resume the reservations made and confiscated by other travelers.

To my surprise, I was able to hang a reservation at only 17 days in advance.

We wrapped our car and we left for our trip

My husband and I loaded our backpacks in our motorhome in early February with everything we would need for the painful hike.

We made a goodbye to the comfort of our house in Las Vegas and led 2 hours and a half to our first stop: a recording required at the Grand Canyon Caverns Inn in Peach Springs, in Arizona.

We met a Havasupai representative who published all the necessary documents after providing our proof of identification and printed booking documents.

We were given trail cards and instructions for 60 miles by car through the Havasupai reserve to reach our starting point, Hualapai Hilltop.

Once there, we hoisted our 35-pound packs on our back and took the first nervous step to start our adventure.

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We started 10 -thousand at our Havasupai campsite

We started hike from 10 miles to the campsite at noon. The strongly descending path dropped us through a layer on a layer of colored rocks and made my legs tremble even if I am an experienced backpacker.

Admittedly, I was worried about what was going to happen for the rest of the hike if it was only the intro.

My nerves gave way to excitement when the path led us gently downhill through magnificent canyons worthy of image before arriving in the village of Supai.

While we enter the village of Supai, we have seen panels indicating that photography is strictly prohibited. The small village is an active community and a basic hub for the Havasupai people, who cherish their intimacy.

We have traveled wooden houses with pasture horses and burros that lingered in side courses, nodding the few hikers who had chosen to stop to rest your legs.

The well -marked route led us from the village of Supai, with a turn on the dirt road quickly masking any sign of the community that we left.

Our feet were officially tired at that time, but the remaining hike of 1.5 mile to the campsite gave us an overview of the Havasu stream, the legendary source of blue-green waters.

After 9 miles of hiking, we met our first waterfalls

About 9 miles in our hike, we met our first three Havasupai waterfalls – Fifty Falls, Little Navajo Falls and Old Navajo Falls – before arriving in a makeshift plywood bridge.

We crossed the bridge one by one and we have ventured until we have our first breathtaking look at the Havasu Cascade Falls.

Suddenly, we understood why Beyoncé filmed her “Spirit” clip on this unique natural wonder.

We caught a place in the Havasupai campsite field

After taking pictures of Havasu Falls, we headed down on the stiff path of the official entrance to the campsite.

We slowly traveled the long section of the first arrival campsites, the first arrival, the first served, designated only by a picnic table nestled within the narrow limits of the black canyon walls.

My insistence to find the ideal place to present our tent borne fruit when we came across a beautiful campsite in Havasupai.

We progressed towards the deposit in the canyon at 100 feet below and we realized that we were looking over on the edge of one of the most famous waterfalls in Havasupai: Mooney Falls.

The highest point of our trip was to hike Havasu Creek Trail

Time has passed quickly during our four days in Havasupai.

Our favorite trip hike was on Havasu Falls Trail, which extends from Mooney Falls to Beaver Falls.

This “Goonies” style hike was described by the Havasupai people (and the disturbing renunciation that we have signed) as “extremely treacherous”.

We descend stone tunnels and wooden ladders covered with foam to go to the bottom of the Mooney Falls. But in the end, we saw a view worthy of all the photos that we could take, supervise and hang in our house.

The 2.5 mile path led us in front of the pasture of the Mouflons d’Amérique, through several crossings of rivers and countless nameless waterfalls.

Soon, we arrived at our turnaround and our Beaver Falls, a work of art in terraces created by minerals deposited by Havasu Creek.

Before leaving, my husband and I swore to return to Havasupai Falls

When our time in Havasupai Falls ended, it did not bother us the long hike of 10 miles to return to our car or more than $ 900 that we spent for this completely unique adventure.

We have reluctantly struck as two children who did not want this unique trip to end.

We consoled ourselves by swearing that we would be back to see Havasupai Falls, a place where we were desperately and insatiably in love.

This story was initially published on February 28, 2024 and more recently updated on April 3, 2025.