The Corridors: Southwest hidden gems in Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico

Phoenix is the capital of Arizona, spread across the heart of the Sonoran Desert in the vast, sun-drenched basin its residents call the "Valley of the Sun." A modern, ever-expanding city, it boasts a hot, dry climate and a landscape dominated by the majestic saguaro cacti, symbol of the American Southwest. At the Desert Botanical Garden visitors can admire thousands of desert plant species, among centuries-old saguaros and unexpected blooms, while the Heard Museum holds one of the richest collections devoted to Native American cultures. Outdoor enthusiasts find spectacular views of the city and surrounding desert along the trails of Camelback Mountain and South Mountain Park. Nearby, refined Scottsdale seduces with its art galleries, luxury resorts and golf courses, while the archaeological remains of Pueblo Grande tell the story of the ancient Hohokam people who once inhabited this land. Between Tex-Mex cuisine, desert excursions and fiery sunsets that turn the rocks red, Phoenix is a surprising destination for those seeking sun, nature and authentic Southwestern culture.

Holbrook is a classic town on historic Route 66, in northeastern Arizona, gateway to the striking Petrified Forest National Park. Here stands the famous Wigwam Motel, with its concrete tepee-shaped rooms, an icon of American road nostalgia. The nearby park holds vividly coloured petrified logs and the lunar landscapes of the Painted Desert. Between fossils, vintage motels and Mother Road memorabilia, Holbrook offers an authentic immersion in the atmosphere of the Southwest and the great American road trip.

Chinle rises in the heart of the Navajo Nation in Arizona, the gateway to magnificent Canyon de Chelly. This sacred canyon, still inhabited by the Navajo, holds ancient ancestral ruins and striking rock formations such as Spider Rock, reachable only with Native guides. Crops and flocks still animate the valley floor.

Monument Valley raises in the desert on the Arizona–Utah border its iconic spires of red sandstone, an immortal symbol of the American West. Part of the Navajo Nation, this sacred landscape has been captured in countless films and photographs, with its mesas and pinnacles outlined against the sky. Navajo-guided tours reveal the culture and legends of the place. Monument Valley is the grand, silent quintessence of the American frontier.

Today's stage takes you from Monument Valley to Page and Lake Powell in about 2 hours (200 km), crossing the largest Native American reservation in the USA, the Navajo Indian Reservation, which extends beyond the Arizona border into New Mexico and Utah. Page was founded in the heart of the northern Arizona desert as a small service town for the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, and is today an ideal base for exploring some of the most spectacular landscapes of the American Southwest. A few minutes away opens Lake Powell, a vast turquoise reservoir set among red sandstone canyons, a paradise for boat trips and houseboats. Nearby lie two icons of travel photography: Antelope Canyon, a slot canyon with undulating walls pierced by beams of light, and Horseshoe Bend, the dramatic curve of the Colorado River wrapping around a rock spur. The area, home to the Navajo Nation, offers guided tours, fiery sunsets and starry skies of rare purity.

To reach Bryce Canyon, you have the choice of two roads, one more scenic but longer (RT 89A - approx. 370 km), the other faster (RT 89 - approx. 300 km). The 89A, known as the Fredonia-Vermillion Cliffs Scenic Byway, merges with the 89 in Kanab and from there continues for another 100 km until it intersects with RT 12. If you take RT 89 from Page, you will cross the Colorado River near the impressive Glen Canyon Dam. The detour along the 89A crosses the Colorado River from the Marble Canyon Bridge, the town of Fredonia, typical of the American West, and the scenery of the Vermilion Cliffs National Monument. You can briefly stop in Kanab, known as Little Hollywood, due to the many films shot in the picturesque surrounding region in the 1950s. Passing through Mt Carmel Junction, tempt yourself with a slice of "Ho-made pie" at the Thunderbird Restaurant (try the strawberry and rhubarb one). If you love minerals, at the Orderville Mine Rock Shop in Orderville you will find a wide selection of local stones. Just before arriving at Bryce, you will cross Red Canyon, giving you a taste of the scenic panorama that awaits you. Bryce Canyon National Park reveals one of the most astonishing landscapes on Earth, a vast natural amphitheatre dotted with hoodoos, amber and pink rock spires sculpted by erosion on the Utah plateau. Viewpoints such as Sunrise and Sunset Point offer breathtaking views at dawn and dusk, while trails descend among the formations into the heart of the canyon. The high elevation ensures some of America's starriest night skies.

the road from Bryce Canyon to Capitol Reef will be one of the most memorable of the trip traveling along Scenic Byway 12. This scenic byway traverses extremely varied landscapes: remnants of ancient seafloors, the highest alpine forests on the planet, stunning red and pink rock spires, and expanses of wild sage. Capitol Reef National Park preserves, in southern Utah, the spectacular Waterpocket Fold, an immense wrinkle of the earth's crust nearly a hundred miles long. Among honey-coloured sandstone cliffs, narrow canyons and ancient pioneer orchards, it offers geological landscapes of extraordinary beauty. Native petroglyphs and solitary trails tell the story of this remote land. A lesser-known yet magnetic park, where Utah's red desert reveals all its grandeur. Surrounded by red sandstone spires and wind-carved plateaus, Moab is the outdoor-adventure capital of Utah. Set along the Colorado River, this lively town is the gateway to two spectacular national parks: Arches, with its more than two thousand natural arches including the famous Delicate Arch, and Canyonlands, where the gorges stretch as far as the eye can see. Mountain biking on the legendary Slickrock Trail, rafting the Colorado rapids, hiking and off-road tours draw travellers from around the world. At sunset the rock glows with orange and crimson hues, while at night the pristine skies reveal a brilliant Milky Way. Don't miss Dead Horse Point, with its breathtaking view over the river's bends. Moab is the perfect starting point for those seeking the American desert in its wildest form.

Canyonlands National Park extends into the heart of southeastern Utah, where the Colorado and Green Rivers have carved a boundless labyrinth of canyons, mesas and red-rock pinnacles. Vast and wild, the park is divided into spectacular districts such as Island in the Sky and The Needles, offering dizzying panoramas and absolute silence. It is a realm of deserts, natural arches and starry skies of rare purity. Canyonlands is one of the grandest geological wonders of the American Southwest.

As the name suggests, Four Corners is the geographical point where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah converge, but it is also the center of a region that is still heavily influenced by Native American culture. Mesa Verde National Park preserves, in southwestern Colorado, the extraordinary cliff dwellings of the ancient Ancestral Puebloan people. A World Heritage Site, it holds hundreds of homes carved into the rock of the cliffs, including the famous Cliff Palace. Visiting its thousand-year-old villages is a journey through time, among wooded mesas and deep canyons. An archaeological site unique in the world, witness to a vanished civilisation. Durango lies in southwestern Colorado, at the foot of the San Juan Mountains, a lively frontier town that has kept the charm of the old West intact. Its beating heart is historic Main Avenue, lined with Victorian buildings, saloons and shops, and the departure point of the famous Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a steam train that climbs through gorges and forests up to the mining town of Silverton. All around unfold spectacular landscapes: the trails of the San Juan, the waters of the Animas River for rafting and, not far away, the Mesa Verde site with the ancient cliff dwellings of the Ancestral Puebloans.

Taos is a captivating town in northern New Mexico, set in the high desert at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, famed for its ancient adobe pueblo, continuously inhabited for over a thousand years and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its lively community of artists, drawn by the extraordinary light, makes it a renowned creative centre, with galleries and museums. In winter Taos Ski Valley offers challenging slopes, while the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge gives dizzying views. Between Native culture, art and Southwest landscapes, Taos is magical.

Santa Fe guards a singular soul: capital of New Mexico and the oldest of all the United States' state capitals, it wins you over at first glance with its unmistakable terracotta-coloured adobe architecture. Its beating heart is the historic Plaza, flanked by the Palace of the Governors, where Native American artisans display silver and turquoise jewellery. Nearby rise the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi and Canyon Road, the famous gallery-lined street that made Santa Fe one of America's art capitals. The city pulses with Hispanic and Pueblo culture, with its green-chile spiced cuisine, museums devoted to Georgia O'Keeffe and the peaks of the Sangre de Cristo mountains as a backdrop. Santa Fe reveals itself through art, spirituality and desert light.

Albuquerque stretches along the Rio Grande in New Mexico, where Native, Hispanic and Anglo heritage blend beneath an immense, luminous sky. Its ancient core is Old Town, founded in 1706, with the church of San Felipe de Neri, earth-coloured adobe buildings and pueblo craft shops. High above, the Sandia Peak Tramway — one of the longest aerial tramways in the world — climbs to the crest of the Sandia Mountains for sweeping desert views. The city is famous worldwide for the International Balloon Fiesta, when hundreds of hot-air balloons colour the autumn dawn. New Mexican cuisine carries the aroma of green and red chile, sopaipillas and pueblo dishes. Amid red mesas, art and Native culture, Albuquerque is the gateway to the authentic Southwest.