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| A transparent ledge over a death-defying 1,220 metre (4,000 ft) drop |
Set in striking amber-coloured rock, Nevada's Skywalk provides a terrifying walk out over a 20 m (65 ft) transparent death-defying protrusion that juts out over a gasp-inducing 1,220 m(4,000 ft) - drop high above a canyon.
Reached by a two-hour drive from Vegas, the horseshoe-shaped walkway has been built to exactly standards. only 120 people are allowed on it at any time, considerably less than the 820 it can comfortably support. It can also cope with an 8.0 - magnitude earthquake within 80 km (50 miles). However, while it nay be calibrated to cop with a weight of 70 tons and resist wind speed in excess of 160 kph (100 mph), it wobbles and creaks in a most disconcerting way that can turn gentle anxiety into mild panic. Skywalk id engineered to withstand extreme gusts, but even adrenaline-freaks may want to give it a miss in the windiest months. Opt for March or April to avoid the worst of the region's dust storms and the perilous mid-air trembles they inflict.
As you step over the void and look down to the distant, jagged rocks of the valley floor, your stomach is guaranteed to turn somersault. To be so high, unaided over hundreds of multi-layered strata is unnatural, weird and horrifying, but one heck of a buzz
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