The Northwest Passage

Travel through Inuit Nunangat alongside Inuit

Experience the extraordinary privilege of journeying through Inuit Nunangat—the ice, water, and lands of Inuit.

Delve into a dynamic culture as you learn about the language, arts, cuisine, music, and traditions. Each facet is thoughtfully integrated into our on-board and onshore educational program, creating moments of authentic learning throughout your voyage.

As honoured guests in the Inuit homeland, you’ll gain unique insights into the kinship between Inuit and the nuna (land). Connect with Inuit—artists, cultural educators, academics and more—who graciously share their knowledge and expertise.

Be welcomed into an Inuit community, where drum dancers, throat singers, and cultural ambassadors share their traditions. Try your hand at Inuit games, sample country food, or walk the tundra with Inuit expedition team members who will share their homeland with you. Explore the beautiful surroundings of an Arctic hamlet, get to know local residents, and learn about both traditional and modern ways of life.

Marvel at enormous icebergs at Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Visit the fastest-calving glacier in the world, which spills thousands of enormous icebergs into the spectacular Ilulissat Icefjord in Disko Bay, Greenland every year.

View the icebergs from the shore on a hike along the boardwalk.

Cruise pristine natural areas to spot amazing Arctic wildlife

Navigate through some of the most pristine waterways in the Arctic, where the land and sea come together to create a vital sanctuary for wildlife.

Tallurutiup Imanga, the entrance to the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Arctic archipelago, is one of Canada’s largest National Marine Conservation Areas. Its glacier-fed waters, mountain landscapes, and rugged coastlines define this vast and beautiful place, offering opportunities to witness wildlife in their natural space.

As you explore this protected habitat, seek out seabirds, marine mammals, and polar bears, all while discovering cultural and historical sites from the Thule period and the era of European exploration along the region’s coast.

Visit Beechey Island National Historic Site

Pay your respects at one of the most notorious sites in the Arctic: Beechey Island.

Learn about the famed site where the ill-fated Franklin Expedition overwintered from 1845–1846.

See the graves of three of Franklin’s men (along with one of a fourth man from a later Northwest Passage expedition) that are a haunting memorial to the heyday of European Arctic exploration.

Sail the fabled Northwest Passage at the top of the world

Traverse one of the world’s most mythical and celebrated ocean routes in the comfort of an ice-class expedition vessel.

Hear the compelling stories of European explorers who attempted the challenge and of Inuit who have travelled the waterway for centuries.