Sedona

Sedona, Arizona, is one of America's most spectacular natural environments — a small town of 10,000 in the Sonoran Desert surrounded by soaring red sandstone buttes, spires and canyon walls that glow with extraordinary colour at sunrise and sunset. It has also developed a reputation as a New Age spiritual centre, with dozens of energy vortexes (sites of alleged concentrated earth energy) attracting meditation retreats, crystal shops and spiritual practitioners. Cathedral Rock, Bell Rock, Courthouse Butte and the Chapel of the Holy Cross (a modernist chapel built into a red rock wall with extraordinary views) are the iconic images. The Red Rock State Park, Slide Rock State Park (a natural water slide in Oak Creek Canyon) and the Bell Rock Trail are excellent for hiking and photography. Jeep tours on the red rock terrain are popular. The Oak Creek Canyon drive north toward Flagstaff (45 minutes) is spectacular. The food scene has improved significantly, with excellent restaurants in uptown and Tlaquepaque (an arts village). Sedona gets very crowded on weekends; weekdays are significantly more pleasant.