As we were planning for a few days of exploration in Arizona, we were naturally guided towards the Antelope Canyon slot canyon tour. “It’s a must do” said every single person and website I encountered. The more that I looked into it, the less interested I became. Don’t get me wrong, Antelope Canyon looks incredible. I believe the hype. The problem with hype is that everyone is hyping it up! An article from 2018 states “That equates to a minimum of 600 people going through the 100-yard canyon every hour between 8:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. The result is an astonishingly crowded, shoulder-bumping slot canyon. There is no place in the canyon without a crowd of people. There is no quiet place in the canyon.” No.Thank.You. That sounds less like time spent in nature and more like fighting the crowds at Disney World. So, I set off to research other slot canyon options in Arizona and stumbled upon the little known Cardiac Canyon.

Cardiac Canyon is also located in Navajo Nation, just a short ways away from Antelope Canyon. Guided exclusively by Taadidiin Tours and located on private property, tours of Cardiac Canyon are limited to 6 people per DAY. Count me in.

Our tour began at the office for Taddidiin Tours. We met with the rest of our group and the two guides who would lead us on the tour. Our group was even smaller than expected with 5 people, allowing us each time and solitude on the adventure. After a 15 minute ride in the tour van, we came to a deep slot in the earth. The entrance to the canyon is about 200 feet down a steep and sandy slope. A rope is available to hold on to as you shuffle down the descent. Once reaching the canyon floor, the elevation stays relatively level except for a few areas of simple bouldering over small rocks through the canyon and a short ladder.

The rock that forms Cardiac Canyon is Navajo Sandstone. The canyon was shaped over millions of years as water and wind rushed through the stone. This created natural carvings through erosion, creating incredible textures, patterns and details which combined with desert varnish, a colorful coating of minerals left behind on the rock, creates a true piece of art. No two areas of the rock appear alike.

While you may initially think that Cardiac Canyon gets its name from the physical exertion required to ascend and descend the canyon, that’s not the case. Our guides told us that the name comes from the portion of the canyon that resembles “chambers” as in the heart. I haven’t been able to verify that, but both reasons make sense once you complete the tour.

During the tour I used both my iPhone 14 Pro and Sony a7rV with the 16-35 mm lens. While I carried a tripod, I did not use it, instead relying on Sony’s advanced image stabilization, leaning on rock, and breath holding ;-P

With a generous 6 hours to complete the roughly 2.5 mile tour, we spent much of our time in the chambers section of the hike. After exploring each of the chambers slowly we eat our packed lunch and hung out until the sun was high enough overhead to enter the canyon. I wandered back into the chambers, noticing that I could just begin to make out a sunburst as the sunlight kissed the edge of the canyon ceiling. Combined with the dust floating in the area, I created what are likely some of my favorite sunburst images ever.

When the timing was right, our guides led us to the strips of light entering the canyon and showed us how to use sand to make the light rays stand out. While the wind wasn’t perfectly ideal, we had great fun overshooting and playing.

The climb out of the canyon was when we began to question the real meaning of the name Cardiac Canyon. Using a rope ladder resting on the ground to help guide us up, we ascended the 200 feet back to the level ground. We took it slow and steady, each going at our own pace, stopping to catch our breath in the hot desert sun.sadly, as hard as we wished for it, there was no margarita truck waiting at the top.

Our tour of Cardiac Canyon is definitely one of my favorite experiences and one I absolutely plan to repeat. While I am tempted to keep the location secret to help preserve the beauty and serenity of this canyon, I hope that the family will choose to protect their cherished land by keeping the tour groups small and intimate.

Below you can see a few of the short iPhone videos I recorded during our tour.