We were a large group of young professionals that had planned this trip to Havasupai for almost a year. ![]() So whether I helicopter out or stay in their motel I have to pay over $250 for my wife and I to see these falls?!? That is outrageous! Where is the NPS cause they should be running this American treasure, not the tribe! I feel dirty just trying to book this so I will not. None of this takes into account the horrible reviews on this site of the people, food, housing that is there. The fact they want to charge you double if you decide to stay in an empty room same day tells you the motivation of the tribe. There is a helicopter that goes out but they tell you how unreliable it is and it too is quite pricey. Or campground, which I have no desire to bring that equipment in. Even though I am a seasoned hiker, they tell you one cannot day hike in and has to stay overnight in their motel room and pay $145 + tax. They now charge $40 a person to see the falls. The way the tribe has this setup is to maximize fleecing you of your hard earned money, which is not what I imagine people want to experience visiting this beautiful location. I am trying to book a trip here for next spring and I am officially bailing on it. Please DO NOT use the pack animals until this tribe improves the condition of these animals. " His response was to giggle and say something ridiculous. I said to the owner " your animals look kind of skinny. I took a closer look and saw that one had a large abscessed wound on it's right side. I saw two very thin and exhausted looking mules with pack saddles on, covered in dry sweat. This pretty much ruined the trip for me, but the following day I came upon a scene near the campground entrance that REALLY upset me. Just past the village I saw many other skinny horses, and I was particularly disturbed by an emaciated pony that was in a small corral right off the main trail. Right off the trail I noticed a very skinny donkey with horribly overgrown/deformed and split hooves. Even more disturbing is what I saw when my group entered the village. I saw one wrangler making his mules RUN up a portion of the rocky trail. There is NO WATER at the top and they carry heavy packs for 8 -10 miles up this trail. I cannot imagine what it's like for these poor creatures in the heat of summer. On the way down many mule/horse trains passed us going up the rocky trail.They were sweating profusely despite the relatively mild temps. The natural beauty is stunning but the way the animals are treated is heartbreaking. I visited Havasupai at the end of October 2016. The falls were beautiful, the hike was beautiful, but the rest of the experience there is something I no longer desire to endure. (Tip 2, there are a ton of propane canisters at the bottom, try to use them instead of leaving a full one behind) It was the largest and significantly cleaner that all of the other locations). We found out the workers there use that one only, and you just need to knock on h the door first. (Traveler tip, the top facility on the left side has the occupied button broken. ![]() The smell and conditions were so bad, that the ammonia smell made eyes water and made you wonder how unsanitary the area was. They have self composting toilets that were solar powered but were not running. The overcrowding led to the nastiest part of the trip. ![]() Finding your piece of the land was difficult and was not relaxing at all. Worst part, with all of the rebooking due to Covid, campgrounds were WAY over crowded. ![]() Same with exploring the lower falls, very unsafe. The ledge on the other side would not allow for a normal walk way, and required a sideways - you better really watch your step moment. As we continued our hike down, the main bridge was washed out to the falls, this created a 3/4 mile up and down a steep grade because mule service could not cross over the 4x8 plywood boards for a makeshift bridge. Houses were run down in subpar conditions. The walk down was nice, we found conditions in supai village run down and animals not well cared for, they were in muddy conditions and sun. Our first encounter came at the main check point where were told “watch where you park, the white man will go through your things “. I do respect land and did respect the land we were allowed to visit. First, sacred land and your respect for it, is something you are reminded of. Enjoyed seeing those, the issue was the conditions we found while there.
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