High Arctic Explorer's Top Ten Wonders

With shattered shale plains, eroding bluffs, and little greenery, Beechey Island appears utterly sterile. But to history buffs, it’s hallowed ground. Here, three mariners with the lost Franklin expedition were interred. For 170 years—until the recent discovery of Franklin’s ships—their graves were the prime monument to that tragic, mysterious voyage. Pay respects to the trio, explore artefacts left by Franklin searchers, and marvel at what it was like for Englishmen to live and die here, so distant from the only world they knew.

Ilulissat means “icebergs.” The name says it all. Beside this renowned town of 4,700 people is Sermeq Kujalleq (Jakobshavn Glacier), the busiest glacier in the Northern Hemisphere, spewing 20 billion tonnes of ice per year into the local waterfront. Appropriately, this is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, not to mention Greenland’s top tourist attraction. Tour amongst the skyscraping bergs (often accompanied by humpback whales!), peruse the local museums and shops (sealskin chic!), and dine on distinctive Greenlandic fare (muskox burgers anyone?).

Marvel at the diversity of wildlife all around these beautiful vistas. On the cliffs, murres and guillemots nest by the countless thousands. On the land, foxes watch us from the outcrops, muskoxen trample the tundra, and walruses patrol the bays. And on the drifting ice floes? Keep your binoculars ready for seals and the white bears that love to feed on them.

The biggest town in the High Arctic of Canada is also—we would argue—one of its most beautifully located. Mittimatalik, also known as Pond Inlet, nestles along whale-laden Eclipse Sound, peering toward the peaks and glaciers of Sirmilik National Park. For its 1,500 or so Inuit residents, this community is a cultural haven. Tour around town with warm local guides, hear (and likely learn a bit of) the Inuktitut language, witness a cultural extravaganza of Inuit sports and song, and purchase unique local carvings and craftworks.

Devon Island, the world’s largest uninhabited island, makes up for what it lacks in people in its ice—4,000 gigatons of the stuff, forming an ice cap almost a kilometre deep and sending glaciers churning down to the sea. By ship and Zodiac, explore the face of these tidewater glaciers, while watching for the calving of house-sized icebergs and weaving amongst iridescent blue “bergy bits.”

Overlaying much of these northern waters is Tallurutiup Imanga, a landmark marine sanctuary established through a pact between Inuit and Canada. Sail and Zodiac through this natural and cultural seascape, witnessing ecological wonders. Here, the greatest Arctic whales, bus-sized bowheads, skim for plankton—while belugas and narwhal gobble cod in the fjords and polar bears prowl the ice.

Everything about Greenland’s geology owes its existence to ice. Inland is the greatest ice sheet in the Northern Hemisphere. Along the coast are a labyrinth of fjords, the product of eons of grinding ice—much of it still sparkling in the cirques. And at sea? If you’re lucky you might spot bobbing bergs, sailing to who-knows-where. Explore this glittering land and seascape by ship, Zodiac, or on shore. Make sure your camera has a spare memory card, because you might just fill it up!

A century ago the Arctic was disputed territory. Mounties and Inuit special constables were thus sent to Devon Island to fly Canada’s flag, make sovereignty patrols, and staff a remote station at Dundas Harbour. After the Mounties left, this was the site of the first Arctic relocation, when Inuit families were infamously moved to bolster Canada’s claims to the Far North. Tour the station’s eerie structures, learn about the hardships here, and take in the beautiful tundra.

Sailing up Kangerlussuaq Fjord (Søndre Strømfjord) is a true polar pleasure. A whopping 190 kilometres long but just two klicks wide, this remarkable seaway is flanked all along by frosted peaks and glaciers. En route you’ll cross the Arctic Circle—an achievement few travellers can claim. And at the end of it all is humble-but-historic Kangerlussuaq. Once a United States air base key in fighting the Nazis, it’s now Greenland’s main international airport. Look for muskoxen, scruffy trees, and several fine souvenir shops around the airport terminal.

For at least a millennium, this shivering sea has united Europe and Arctic North America. Inuit travel here, as did Vikings, Scottish whalers, explorers like Franklin and Amundsen, and more. On the outer decks, keep your eyes peeled for pilot and sperm whales, seabirds, and fantastical icebergs.