Desperately seeking something: On the trail of energy vortexes in Sedona, Arizona

Leave your cynicism at the door on a spiritual stay in the terracotta landscapes of this mystical desert town, advises Joanna Whitehead

The red rocks of Sedona, believed to be home to ‘energy vortexes' (Joanna Whitehead)

In my first 10 hours in Sedona, I’ve already earnestly browsed and purchased a selection of crystals, received a “mindful massage” from a stranger in a bar, and wept in a Buddhist prayer garden. So far, so Sedona. Back home, such theatrics would put me in line for a hefty dose of hard mockery, but this small town in northern Arizona is not a place for cynics or sceptics.

Home to dramatic terracotta buttes, ponderosa pines and huge cerulean skies, this jaw-dropping landscape attracts everyone from Instagrammers seeking money-shots to spiritualists with more metaphysical motivations. Located two hours south of the Grand Canyon, almost three million people arrive in this desert town each year seeking relaxation and spiritual healing due to its international reputation as a major global energy hub, rich with what are known locally as vortexes.

Similar to other sacred sites, such as the Great Pyramid of Giza, Machu Picchu and Uluru, Sedona is believed to be a place where points of energy rise and fall beneath the earth, with some convinced these bestow a sense of “spiritual realignment”. Visitors often report experiencing a sense of calm, a palpable tingling sensation on their skin, or a sense of emotional release during their time here. As well as being an ancient sacred site for indigenous people, the energy here is said to be so strong that juniper trees twist and bend themselves in response to its force.