The Grand Canyon is one of the world’s most amazing sights. Carved by the Colorado River over millions of years, the massive, steep-sided gorge runs for almost 500 kilometres through the US state of Arizona. In some places, the canyon is over 1,600 metres deep and up to 24 kilometres wide. Millions of tourists visit each year to hike, raft on the Colorado River or just take in the spectacular scenery.

The Grand Canyon Skywalk, a horseshoe-shaped walkway that extends out over the canyon’s rim, is the area’s newest tourist attraction. The skywalk is situated within the Hualapai Indian Reservation, a 160 kilometre stretch along the southern rim of the Grand Canyon. The Hualapai, a tribe of Native Americans whose name means ‘The People of the Pine Trees’, were behind the planning and construction of the skywalk and expect it to boost the number of visitors to the area.

The skywalk opened to the public on 28th March this year. The official opening ceremony took place on 20th March, and was attended by tribal leaders, developers and even former astronauts — John Herrington and Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, were guests of honour.

Conservation groups have criticised the new attraction, fearing that the tourist traffic it brings will ruin a previously unspoilt section of the canyon. They have also voiced their concerns about the possible over-development of the area in the future. Some of the Hualapai elders believe that the skywalk should not have been built on tribal land, since this land holds religious significance for the tribe. On the other hand, younger members of the tribe view the skywalk as vitally important for their people. They stress the need for income from tourism to help solve the problems faced by the tribe, which include high rates of unemployment, alcoholism and poverty.

The Hualapai tribe invests a lot of time and energy into promoting tourism. As well as making and selling handicrafts, tribe members lead tourists on river-rafting, hunting and cattle-ranching expeditions. The skywalk is the first stage in a new development that they have planned with the help and financial backing of David Jin, a developer from the nearby city of Las Vegas. The full plans for the skywalk complex include a museum, cinema, gift shop, and even an outdoor restaurant on the edge of the canyon. The tribe hopes that the skywalk development will attract 600,000 visitors each year. When you think that each visitor to the Hualapai Indian Reservation must pay a US$28 (HK$218) entrance fee plus US$25 (HK$198) for access to the skywalk, it is apparent that the tribe stands to make a lot of money.

The skywalk itself is a one million kilogramme construction of concrete, steel and glass that cost over US$30 million (HK$234 million) to build. Anchored deep within the limestone cliff, the curved glass-bottomed walkway stretches 20 metres out over the edge of the canyon. Tourists on the skywalk, their feet clad in souvenir booties (to stop them from slipping or scratching the glass), look straight down through the ten-centimetre-thick glass to the floor of the canyon, 1,200 metres below. It is an incredible, but terrifying, experience — especially for those who are afraid of heights.

If this sounds dangerous, it is worth considering that the skywalk was designed with absolute safety in mind. It can hold more than six tonnes of weight, survive earthquakes and withstand winds of up to 160 kilometres per hour. Shock-absorbers have been built into the structure to reduce vibrations from wind and tourists’ footsteps. Despite all of these safety features, the tribe has decided to take additional safety precautions and limit access to the skywalk — only 120 people are allowed onto the walkway at any one time.

Although the skywalk development has the potential to improve the lives of the Hualapai and allows visitors to experience the Grand Canyon in an entirely new and awe-inspiring way, critics’ fears about over-development may be justified. The skywalk complex is just one part of an even more ambitious plan — a huge development called Grand Canyon West. This development would stretch for hundreds of kilometres alongside the canyon and feature restaurants, hotels, a golf course and a cable car that will take visitors from the rim of the canyon to the Colorado River, hundreds of metres below. One of nature’s greatest wonders is certainly becoming more and more accessible, but does all this development disturb the same natural beauty that visitors come to see?

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