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Nunavut

Picture a treeless, ice-encrusted wilderness lashed by unrelenting weather with a population density that makes Greenland seem claustrophobic. Add polar bears, narwhals, beluga whales and a scattered Inuit population who have successfully mastered a landscape so harsh that foreigners could not colonize it.

Nunavut is Canada's largest and most lightly populated subdivision, a mythical assortment of uninhabited islands and frigid ocean that exists on the planet's climatic and geographic extremes. Visitors here face multiple obstacles, not least perennial blizzards, no roads and massive travel costs. But those that do get through have the benefit of welcoming communities and awe-inspiring natural wonders, as well as the privilege of joining a small band of intrepid trailblazers, safe in the knowledge that they are setting foot where few have trodden before.

Top attractions

These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Nunavut.

  • See

    Uqqurmiut Centre for Arts & Crafts

    Pang is famous for its lithographs, prints and tapestries, and this extraordinary place brings it all together. There are few tapestry studios in the world, but one is here and you can watch the weavers at work. Artists create prints via a variety of techniques in the adjacent workshop, and there's a stunning archived collection available to browse and buy. Famous crocheted hats and hand-woven scarves are another highlight, as are the soapstone, marble and bone carvings and jewelry.

  • See

    Katannilik Territorial Park

    Near Iqaluit and one of Nunavut's finest parks, Katannilik means 'Place of Waterfalls' and comprises two main features. A Canadian Heritage waterway, aquamarine Soper River splashes a navigable 50km through a deep, fertile valley, past cascades, caribou, gemstone deposits and dwarf-willow forest to Kimmirut, attracting paddlers. Hikers and skiers take the Itijjagiaq Trail, a traditional 120km route (one week) over the tablelands of the Meta Incognita Peninsula and through the Soper valley to the Frobisher Bay trailhead, 10km west of Iqaluit. Most paddlers charter a plane from Iqaluit to the riverside airstrip at Mt Joy, float three to five days from the put-in to Kimmirut, and then fly back to Iqaluit. Kenn Borek Air (www.borekair.com) does charters. Iqaluit outfitters can take hikers to the trailhead by boat. Before entering Katannilik Territorial Park, you have to register either at the visitor center in Iqaluit (which stocks the invaluable The Itijjagiaq Trail guide) or at the Katannilik Park Centre in Kimmirut.

  • See

    Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum

    This friendly little museum in an old Hudson's Bay Company building showcases an engaging permanent collection of traditional Inuit clothing, tools, children's toys, weaponry and methods of transport, including a full-size sealskin canoe, plus splendid soapstone and whalebone carvings. Upstairs are Thule artifacts (including some early snow-goggles) dating back hundreds of years. Occasional high-quality temporary exhibitions of contemporary Inuit artists. The gift shop stocks carvings, jewelry, ulus (Inuit women's knives) and more.

  • See

    Matchbox Gallery

    This small space is famed for having pioneered Inuit ceramic art. Watch artists at work, and browse and buy a wide range of beautiful handicrafts, including prints and soapstone and antler carvings.

  • See

    Angmarlik Visitor Centre

    This enthusiastically run place near the waterfront features a replica Inuit tent made of whalebone and animal skins, sealskin canoes and interesting displays on Inuit culture, with traditional hunting, fishing and household implements, plus archaeological finds from Kekerten Island. Another exhibition charts local whaling history and its effect on Inuit life. Elders congregate in a separate room here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Make sure staff explain the game of seal flipperbone Monopoly. The library is located here.

  • See

    Legislative Assembly

    It's well worth taking an entertaining free tour (by appointment) of Nunavut's prefab parliament to learn about all manner of Inuit art displayed throughout the building, as well as about the chamber, with its aboriginal touches, such as the igloo-like interior, sealskin benches and seats for community elders. You'll encounter two maces: the diamond-tipped Working Mace and the original, made of narwhal tusk.

  • See

    Cape Searle & Reid Bay National Wildlife Areas

    On the northeast side of Baffin Island, these two vast wildlife areas are a prime destination for birdwatchers. They protect the globally significant breeding grounds of millions of migratory seabirds, such as murres, kittiwakes and fulmars. Nunavut Experience Outfitting can arrange transport.

  • See

    Beechey Island

    It's possible to arrange flights to the national historic site, Beechey Island, where the ill-fated Franklin expedition wintered in 1845–46 before vanishing forever.

  • See

    Apex

    Located 5km from downtown, Apex is now Iqaluit's beach suburb, but was where nomadic Inuit began to settle when modern Iqaluit was an airbase. On the shore is the photogenic Hudson Bay Trading Post complex, dating back to 1949. It's a beautiful 40-minute walk along the waterfront from downtown; the trail starts at the Iqaluit cemetery. On the southeast side of Apex, two whale ribs by the tiny cemetery frame the tundra.