While on vacation in Arizona, we wanted to check out the oldest village of the Hopi tribe. We did not stay at the hotel/motel on the reservation. Instead we purchased a walking tour for $20 per person. Their website does not provide a lot of information regarding the tour. The best way to book the tour and get directions on how to get to the Walpi village is to call the phone number listed on the website.
The instructions I was given to get to the Walpi village was a little confusing. But thankfully after a few detours we made it. Our tour guide Cherilyn was wonderful. We needed to use the bathroom after driving 2.5 hours from Chandler, AZ. Unfortunately there was no restroom for use at the Walpi village--but thankfully there was an outhouse that we were able to use. That added to the experience! But for those of you that plan to do this tour, make sure to stop by the Hopi Cultural center first to use the restroom before doing this tour.
This tour is separate from the Hopi Cultural Center. You cannot book this tour with them. You must call ahead and prepay via credit card or go in person to the First Mesa Consolidated Village office (FMCV).
The FMCV office is not open on weekends. Since we were planning to visit on a weekend, we prepaid for our tour and then met our tour guide at the Walpi village in First Mesa.
Here are the instructions so you won't get lost like we did:
plug in GPS location: N35.49030 W110.30150
go north on AZ-87
at the intersection of AZ-87 and AZ-264E, make a right turn towards First Mesa (if you are coming from the west, you have to drive east past Second Mesa to get to First Mesa)
keep driving until you see a road opening (on left side) with a huge white sign that says FMCV
the FMCV sign will have an arrow pointing left--dont go left unless you plan to purchase tickets--to go to Walpi village, go right instead
Keep driving until you reach the very very top of the hill (the entire road going up will be paved--do not drive down any dirt roads going downhill--we did this and it was wrong!)
you will see houses at the top of the hill, keep driving to the very back of this "neighborhood" until you see a sign that says "do not go beyond this point"
park in the lot
When we arrived Cherilyn was already there to meet us. While I was booking the tour, I was advised by the lady working at FMCV that I would be contacted the day before the tour to confirm the tour, to let me know who our tour guide would be, and would be given a contact phone number in case we got lost. Unfortunately none of this occurred. We had no phone number to call when we got lost and we didnt know Cherilyn was our guide until we arrived at the village. Hopefully they can correct this for the future.
I advise making reservations in advance. A couple arrived from Arkansas after our tour was over and they wanted to take a tour. However, the village was preparing for a graduation so tour guides were not so readily available to accept walk-ins.
After our tour was over, we were able to check out some of the products handmade by the village people. Their talents are very impressive! I compared the products from after the tour and the products at the cultural center. The products after our tour at the Walpi village were WAY BETTER than what I saw at the Hopi cultural center. If you like what you see, buy it!
I forgot to mention that while on tour, there were some men in their home making products. We were invited into their home to see their handmade items. It was a privilege to be invited into their historic home.
I would recommend everyone to take this tour to learn about the Hopi people and how they lived then and now. Their culture is so rich in history.
After the tour we headed over to the restaurant by the Hopi Cultural Center for some authentic Hopi Indian eats. See picture.
PS--the tour does not allow for any photography or video taking. You will have to take mental pictures and try to remember it all! read more