QC
64
To polar bears, muskox and caribou, the
tundra, tumbling waterways and craggy
shores are their home. The Inuit people have
journeyed and settled on this land for more
than four millennia. Today, they guide
excursions into the inviolable grandeur of
the Nunavik Parks, marrying unspoiled
adventure with rich cultural experiences and
the magical northern lights.
PINGUALUIT NATIONAL PARK
A backcountry trip to Pingualuit goes to the
park's signature feature—the almost
perfectly round crater filled with clear blue
rainwater, formed when a meteorite
slammed into the tundra 1.4 million years
ago. The nearby base camp at Lake
Manarsulik is the jumping-off point for
explorations into the surreal beauty of the
parklands. Winter and summer, visitors
arrive at the Inuit community of Kangiqsu-
juaq, nearby the Hudson Strait, to meet their
Inuit guides before travelling 120 km (75 mi.)
to the crater site, either by panoramic flight
or on snowmobile. In summer, adventurers
paddle Lake Manarsulik and hike the crater
rim with vistas over the treeless Arctic
tundra. In winter, there is backcountry
skiing, ice fishing, kiteskiing, fat biking,
alpine snow-shoeing and a once-in-a-
lifetime chance to embrace the snow-
covered tundra by returning to Kangiqsujuaq
on a multi-day, hut-to-hut ski trek
(www.nunavikparks.ca/en/parks/
pingualuit).
KUURURJUAQ NATIONAL PARK
Climb Québec's highest summit, Mont
D'Iberville (1646 m), and hike the foothills
of the Torngat Mountains, Canada's tallest
peaks east of the Rockies. Its superlatives
include: spellbinding vistas of rolling
tundra, spiritual summertime treks or
winter snowshoe adventures through
ancient boreal spruce forests and camping
in traditional Inuit tents while the northern
lights play overhead. The headwaters of the
Koroc River flow from the Torngats, a place
the Inuit call "The Land of Spirits," a nav-
igable waterway in summer for whitewater
paddling and a frozen pathway in winter
for exploring by Nordic skis. The welcoming
community of Kangiqsualujjuaq is home
base for expeditions where experienced
Inuit guides share the love of their Arctic
homeland and the richness of their culture
and history (www.nunavikparks.ca/
en/parks/Kuururjuaq).
Nunavik: "The Great
Land" Delivers
Great Adventure
BY JOSEPHINE MATYAS
TORNGAT MOUNTAINS IN KUURURJUAC NATIONAL PARK • PATRICK GRAILLON (ABOVE); PINGUALUIT
CRATER • HEIKO WITTENBORN (TOP RIGHT); POLAR BEARS • NUNAVIK TOURISM (BOTTOM RIGHT)
The Nunavik region of Québec's
Far North is a nature lover's
dream come true. This Arctic
landscape sits above the 55
th
parallel: a backcountry wilderness
of alpine tundra, gravity-defying
mountains, remote coastlines,
friendly Inuit communities and
four Québec national parks.
HUDSON CUESTAS IN TURSUJUQ NATIONAL PARK • STEVE DESCHÊNES
