Travel Guides to Canada

2022-23 Travel Guide to Canada

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MUST SEE, MUST DO Dogsled or kayak on a day trip out of Iqaluit (www.inukpakoutfitting.ca). Experience an Arctic safari aboard a snowmobile-drawn Inuit sled from coastal Pond Inlet to the floe edge in springtime, guided by Inuit. Wildlife, from whales to polar bears, take part in an open water feeding frenzy (www.arctickingdom.com/ arctic-safari). Watch polar bears and walrus emerge from stone, antler and whalebone as carvers work outside their homes in most hamlets. See colourful northern lights flicker across the sky in fall and winter. Experience Inuit throat singing and drum dancing (www.alianait.ca). Taste traditional Inuit food like Arctic char, caribou, muskox and fresh, hot bannock bread. SCENIC WALKS Experienced backpackers can traverse the 97-km (60-mi.) Akshayuk Pass through Auyuittuq National Park, a 10 to 14-day hike amid glaciers, sheer cliffs and river crossings. Be sure to travel with one of the licenced, insured and Park-approved outfit- ters in Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq. The less adventurous can glimpse the pass' spectacular mountain terrain on a day's boat ride up the fjord from Pangnirtung to hike to the Arctic Circle (www.parkscanada.gc.ca/ auyuittuq). Hike the trail up the peak of 200-m (656-ft.) Mount Pelly in Ovayok Territorial Park east of Cambridge Bay for views, wildflowers and archaeological sites (www.nunavutparks.com /parks-special-places/ovayok-territorial-park). Stroll easy paths through a tundra valley to waterfalls and cultural sites at Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park just outside Iqaluit (www.nunavutparks.com/parks-special- places/sylvia-grinnell-territorial-park). FAMILY FUN Head to Iqaluit from Ottawa on a family- friendly long weekend in August. Flights, hotel and a town tour are included (www.arctickingdom.com/arctic- getaways). Take the kids to play with Canadian purebred Inuit dog puppies at Inukpak Outfitting's kennel, head out for a dogsledding excursion, build an igloo with your family then sleep in it, or ride a snowmobile and try ice fishing (www.inukpakoutfitting.ca). NU 111 ROUGHLY 75% OF THE WORLD'S NARWHAL POPULATION MIGRATES INTO NUNAVUT'S ISLAND ESTUARIES AND SHALLOW BAYS. Quick Fact SLED DOG TEAM, CITY OF IQALUIT • NU TOURISM/FRED LEMIRE National Parks and Historic Sites: www.parkscanada.gc.ca 1-888-773-8888 Park Pick SIRMILIK NATIONAL PARK Between the communities of Pond Inlet and Arctic Bay on northern Baffin Island, Sirmilik National Park's 22,200 sq. km (8,572 sq. mi.) are comprised of three parts: Borden Peninsula is a plateau sliced by broad river valleys; Oliver Sound is a scenic fjord for boating, wilderness hiking and camping; and Bylot Island is a spectacular and rugged island of mountains, valleys, glaciers and seabird colonies. Kayak iceberg-dotted waters, trek to red rock hoodoo spires, spot migratory snow geese at their biggest nesting area and visit ancient archaeological Thule sites. Bylot abuts the Tallurutiup Imanga National Marine Conservation area called the "Serengeti of the Arctic" for its abundance of seals, narwhal, beluga and bowhead whales, as well as walrus and polar bears (www.parkscanada.gc.ca/sirmilik). POLAR BEARS, HUDSON BAY • DESTINATION CANADA

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