Arctic

Wildlife & culture

The Arctic’s wildlife defines much of its mythic appeal. The single-tusked narwhal, it is said, inspired the legend of the unicorn, the walrus amuses and intrigues, while the polar bear has achieved iconic status as the ‘lord of the Arctic’. Equally intriguing, however is the cultural diversity. Twenty or more different indigenous peoples have called the Arctic their home for millennia, and any expedition is incomplete without an insight into the impact of man on the region and the region’s impact on man.

Cruises & expeditions

The best way to explore the Arctic is on one of the specialist expedition ships that have been constructed specifically for polar cruising and have limited passenger capacity to minimise the environmental impact on the fragile ecosystem. Cruises run during the summer months from June to September and can be broadly divided into two distinct areas - the Canadian Arctic to the west coast of Greenland, and the Scandanavian Arctic to the east coast of Greenland. And for those who wish to join that select group who have stood atop the world, there are icebreaker expeditions to the North Pole and also through the Northeast Passage, the elusive route to the Orient that for centuries drew adventures from safe harbours into the great unknown.

The arctic regions

The Canadian Arctic is a savage land of rock and ice that remarkably supports a wealth of fauna as well as a number of fascinating indigenous communities. Walruses and a number of different whale species thrive in this harsh environment, and isolated Inuit villages dot the remote coastlines. Itineraries will include such ‘landmarks’ as the infamous Northwest Passage, Resolute Bay, Baffin Island and the Torngat Mountains Reserve, Canada’s most remote national park. Wilderness and wildlife astound in equal measure in the Scandinavian Arctic. The narrow fjords and drifting ice floes of the Spitsbergen Archipelago (or Svalbard as it is known locally), a remote cluster of islands set entirely within the Arctic Circle, are home to around 5,000 polar bears, while Greenland’s eastern coastline is incomparably beautiful, a quite stunning environment of calving glaciers and icebergs, snow-capped mountains, alpine flowers, narwhals, walruses, abundant birdlife and even a unique sub-species of reindeer.

Read our travel blog: Frozen Planet