Canyon X is the section people find on their second search, usually after seeing what a midday Upper slot costs in July. Same wash, same swirling Navajo sandstone, a few miles downstream, with smaller groups and a walk-in instead of a shuttle line. The listing below has quietly collected 4,413 reviews at 4.7, and for a lot of travelers it is the smarter booking of the three walking sections.
Checked with Daniel Begay, Navajo guide & Southwest canyon specialist
What is an Antelope Canyon X tour like?
A Navajo-guided walk of about one hour through Canyon X, a slot canyon in the same Antelope Canyon wash as the famous sections but visited by far fewer people. Groups run smaller, prices typically run lower, and the trade is a steeper unpaved walk down into the slot and back out. Guided-only, like every section; the live price shows on the listing for your date.
The Canyon X listing worth booking
One listing covers the walk. Canyon X itself is operated by Taadidiin Tours, the Navajo family operation behind antelopecanyon-x.com, which controls access to this stretch of the wash. Booking through GetYourGuide gets you the same guided time slot with the platform's own cancellation terms attached, and this one cancels free up to four days out.
Likely to sell out · Smaller groups than Upper or Lower
Best for slot canyon walls without the shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, usually at a lower price
Antelope Canyon X Guided Tour (about 1 hour)
4.7across 4,413 GetYourGuide reviews
About one hour inside the slot with a Navajo guide, in a smaller group than the famous sections run
A steeper unpaved walk down into the canyon and back up at the end, no ladders involved
Free cancellation up to 4 days before the tour
Live price on the listing shown for your date and currency at booking
Opens the operator's official listing, where the live price and open times for your date are shown.
Canyon X vs Lower vs Upper: which section fits you?
All three are guided slot canyon walks in the same wash system near Page. They differ in crowds, terrain and what the light does. This is the honest three-way, from the current listings and section terrain.
What matters
Canyon X
Lower
Upper
Rating on our tracked listing
4.7 / 4,413 (GYG)
4.7 / 8,861 (GYG); 4.9 / 7,298 (Viator)
4.5 / 2,726 (GYG); 4.7 / 2,069 (Viator)
Crowds
Lightest of the three
Busy
Busiest, especially midday
Getting in
Steeper walk down and back up
Five flights of stairs and ladders
Flat walk-in, easiest
Light beams
Not the beam canyon
Glow, not beams
Beams late March to mid Oct, midday
Typical price position
Usually the cheapest
Mid
Usually the priciest
Cancellation on tracked listing
Free to 4 days
Free on the Viator listing
5-day rule (GYG) or 24 h (Viator)
My call: X wins on breathing room. Photographers who want empty frames and travelers allergic to queues get more canyon per dollar here, and the walls give up nothing in color. Choose the Lower canyon tour for the ladders and the deepest review base, or the Upper canyon tour if the midday beams are the point. The full three-way argument, with photos weighed in, lives in the Upper vs Lower guide, and the tickets and cost guide breaks down what each section actually charges.
What to know before you book Canyon X
The same land rules apply here as at the famous sections. Canyon X sits on Navajo Nation land, entry is guided-only through the authorized operator, and the Navajo Nation permit runs $15 per person, per location, per day; check the listing's inclusions to see how it is collected. The walk in is the real physical note: a steeper unpaved descent than Lower's engineered stairways, and the same slope back out at the end. Sure feet and closed shoes handle it fine.
Flash floods shape the calendar in this wash the same way they do everywhere in the canyon system. A 1997 flood in the lower section killed 11 people, and operators across all sections now cancel when storms threaten upstream during monsoon season, roughly mid-June through September. Take a cancelled Canyon X slot as the safety system doing its job, not bad luck. One more trap: Page skips daylight saving while the Navajo Nation observes it, so in summer confirm which clock your check-in time uses.
Other ways to see Antelope Canyon
X is the quiet pick among several routes in. The Lower canyon tour is the classic ladder walk, the Upper canyon tour is the flat light-beam section, the kayak route comes at the canyon from Lake Powell, and the Las Vegas day trip packages the whole visit into one long coach day.
Canyon X questions
Is Antelope Canyon X worth it?
For most travelers who value space over fame, yes. The tracked listing holds 4.7 across 4,413 GetYourGuide reviews, and the recurring theme in recent reviews is the quiet: small groups moving at their own pace through walls as sculpted as the famous sections. You give up the Upper canyon's midday beams and the Lower canyon's ladder drama. You gain time and room.
Is Canyon X less crowded than Upper and Lower?
Yes, clearly. The Upper and Lower listings we track carry roughly 21,000 reviews between them against 4,413 for Canyon X, and the operator runs smaller groups through a stretch of wash the big crowds never reach. If a photo with no strangers in it is the goal, X is the section where that actually happens without luck.
How hard is the Canyon X hike?
Moderate, in a different way from Lower. There are no ladders; instead you take a steeper unpaved walk down into the slot and climb the same grade back out. The canyon floor itself is an easy stroll for about an hour. Closed shoes with grip are the right call, and anyone who avoids slopes should look at the flat Upper canyon walk instead.
Who runs Antelope Canyon X?
Access to Canyon X is operated by Taadidiin Tours, the Navajo operation behind antelopecanyon-x.com, on Navajo Nation land where every visit is guided. Booking through the GetYourGuide listing on this page reserves the same guided time slot, with free cancellation up to four days out handled by the platform.
What time zone is Antelope Canyon X on?
The canyon sits on Navajo Nation land, which observes daylight saving time, while Page and most of Arizona stay on Mountain Standard Time all year. In summer that creates a one-hour gap between clocks a few miles apart. Confirm with the operator which time your tour uses, and set your phone to update by location the day before.
About this pick
Written by Daniel Begay, a Navajo guide and Southwest canyon specialist. The rating, duration and cancellation terms here are taken from the current GetYourGuide listing and checked against the operator's own site and Navajo Nation Parks information. We earn a disclosed commission if you book through our link, at no extra cost to you.
Take the quiet slot canyon
Smaller groups, the same swirling sandstone, and free cancellation to four days out. Slots still sell out in season, so hold a date early.
