News
Skywalk to open at Grand Canyon
08 March 2007
Holidaymakers visiting the Grand Canyon will soon be able to benefit from an unrivalled view of the 4,000-foot drop below.
An Indian tribe has installed a large glass platform, which will allow visitors to walk 75 feet out over the edge and peer down at the canyon below.
The platform, known as the Skywalk, has been installed by the Hualapai tribe which is desperate for the revenue generated by tourism.
It cost $30m (£15.5m) for the platform, which weighs 485,000kg, to be built and installed and the 2,200 people of the Hualapai tribe plan to charge visitors around $25 (£13) per visit.
However, not all of those within the tribe are pleased with the development and some environmentalists have also questioned its installation.
Tribe elders have begun to question the wisdom of the project, unsure whether the platform should be placed where it is - the Skywalk has been cut into land which is considered sacred by the tribe.
'You have to be real gentle with the land,' said Hualapai spiritual leader Frank Mapatis. 'It's a living being, and it can feel those things.'
Despite some opposition to the Skywalk, it is still expected to attract masses of tourists and many Hualapai members believe that they will help to save the tribe.
'The Grand Canyon has name appeal, and since part of the reservation lies in that, it only seems natural that we use the attraction to the benefit of the tribe,' added Hualapai chairman Charlie Vaughn.
The Skywalk is due to open to the public towards the end of March.
© Adfero Ltd
An Indian tribe has installed a large glass platform, which will allow visitors to walk 75 feet out over the edge and peer down at the canyon below.
The platform, known as the Skywalk, has been installed by the Hualapai tribe which is desperate for the revenue generated by tourism.
It cost $30m (£15.5m) for the platform, which weighs 485,000kg, to be built and installed and the 2,200 people of the Hualapai tribe plan to charge visitors around $25 (£13) per visit.
However, not all of those within the tribe are pleased with the development and some environmentalists have also questioned its installation.
Tribe elders have begun to question the wisdom of the project, unsure whether the platform should be placed where it is - the Skywalk has been cut into land which is considered sacred by the tribe.
'You have to be real gentle with the land,' said Hualapai spiritual leader Frank Mapatis. 'It's a living being, and it can feel those things.'
Despite some opposition to the Skywalk, it is still expected to attract masses of tourists and many Hualapai members believe that they will help to save the tribe.
'The Grand Canyon has name appeal, and since part of the reservation lies in that, it only seems natural that we use the attraction to the benefit of the tribe,' added Hualapai chairman Charlie Vaughn.
The Skywalk is due to open to the public towards the end of March.
© Adfero Ltd
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