Canada’s West
2021 dates coming soon!

Victoria, capital of British Columbia, sits on the craggy southern end of Vancouver Island. With abundant parkland, it’s known for outdoor activities. The city’s British colonial past shows in its Victorian architecture, including stately Craigdarroch Castle mansion. Butchart Gardens, with 55 acres of vivid floral displays, plus statuary, water features and a carousel, is one of many formal gardens in the city.

 Source: Wikipedia

Buchart Gardens: Step inside and explore The Gardens’ reaches, from the depths of a former quarry to the sweet scent of roses. With a former limestone quarry for her backyard, Jennie Butchart envisioned landscaping a sunken garden in its place, transforming the property for her family—and visitors—for generations to come. Today, The Butchart Gardens is a National Historic Site of Canada. You’ll find remnants of the original cement plant and over a million bedding plants in over 900 varieties awaiting you as you wander The Gardens.

Source: buchartgardens.com

Vancouver, a bustling west coast seaport in British Columbia, is among Canada’s densest, most ethnically diverse cities. A popular filming location, it’s surrounded by mountains, and also has thriving art, theatre and music scenes. Vancouver Art Gallery is known for its works by regional artists, while the Museum of Anthropology houses preeminent First Nations collections.

Did You Know: Vancouver is the eighth-largest municipality in Canada by population (631,486).

Source: Wikipedia

Sea To Skye highway: It’s about the journey. And if you subscribe to this philosophy, then you are in luck with BC’s cliff-hugging Highway 99, which winds in and out of Howe Sound’s steep fjords from Vancouver’s North Shore up to Whistler and the farm-filled Pemberton Valley. Lauded as one of the most gorgeous in the world, the Sea-to-Sky Highway is a drive to savour. How else can you catch sight of a bald eagle floating on air currents, a pod of orcas breaching or a climber scaling the 702-metre (2,303-foot) sheer granite face of The Chief?

Source: helobc.com

Whistler: Located in the spectacular Coast Mountains of British Columbia just two hours north of Vancouver, Whistler is Canada’s favourite year-round destination. There are two majestic mountains with a vibrant base Village, epic skiing and snowboarding, four championship golf courses, unbeatable shopping, restaurants and bars, hiking trails, spas and arguably the best mountain bike park in the world.

The Whistler area is not only a place of scenic wonder, but also a region that is rich with a fascinating history and cultural background. Before becoming a ski area and Host Mountain Resort for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, this was a place that drew visitors from far and wide.

Source: whistler.com

Kamloops is ideally located in the heart of British Columbia’s sunny Southern Interior.  The word Kamloops is the English translation of the Shuswap word Tk’emlúps, which means “where the rivers meet” and has been the home of the Tk’emlupsemc, the “people of the confluence”, for centuries. Tk’emlúps has always occupied a place of great economic importance in the region. Traversed by two major waterways, traditional Tk’emlupsemc territory was the centre of major traffic and trade routes. Due to the community’s great economic and military strength, as well as ancestor’s pivotal role in the creation of peace accords, the Tk’emlupsemc were designated the Secwepemc7uwi, “the real Shuswap”. Kamloops is a great community that nurtures growth. They are one of Canada’s premier host centres for developing amateur sport, tournaments, cultural events, high performance training camps and national and international competitions. As Canada’s Tournament Capital, they foster a grassroots philosophy of inclusion, accessibility, and sport development. Incorporated as a city in 1893, Kamloops has transitioned into an urban city while maintaining its western hospitality. Kamloops takes pride in its vibrant arts community. Year-round locals and visitors alike enjoy professional and emerging art galleries and displays throughout the city. Amateur and professional theatre, music festivals, and established and emerging arts and culture organizations and events are held annually.

Banff is a resort town, located within Banff National Park. The peaks of Mt. Rundle and Mt. Cascade, part of the Rocky Mountains, dominate its skyline. On Banff Avenue, the main thoroughfare, boutiques and restaurants mix with château-style hotels and souvenir shops. The surrounding 6,500 square kilometres of parkland are home to wildlife including elk and grizzly bears.

Banff National Park is Canada’s oldest national park and was established in 1885. Located in the Rocky Mountains, Banff encompasses 6,641 square kilometres  of mountainous terrain, with many glaciers and ice fields, dense coniferous forest, and alpine landscapes. The Icefields Parkway  extends from  Lake Louise connecting to Jasper National Park in the north. The main commercial centre of the park is the town of Banff, in theBow River valley.

The Canadian Pacific Railway was instrumental in Banff’s early years, building the Banff Springs Hotel and Chateau Lake Louise and attracting tourists through extensive advertising.  As Banff has over three million visitors annually, the health of its ecosystem has been threatened. In the mid-1990s, Parks Canada  responded by initiating a two-year study, which resulted in management recommendations, and new policies that aim to preserve ecological integrity.

Banff National Park has a subarctic climate with three ecoregions, including mountain supalpine and alpine. . The forests are dominated by Lodgepole pine at lower elevations and Engelmann spruce in higher ones below the tree-line, above which is primarily rocks and ice. Mammal species such as the grizzly bear, cougar, wolverine, elk, bighorn sheep and moose are found, along with hundreds of bird species. Reptiles and amphibians are also found but only a limited number of species have been recorded. The mountains are formed from sedimentary rocks which were pushed east over newer rock strata, between 80 and 55 million years ago. Over the past few million years, glaciers have at times covered most of the park, but today are found only on the mountain slopes though they include the Columbia Icefield,  the largest uninterrupted glacial mass in the Rockies. Erosion from water and ice have carved the mountains into their current shapes.

Source: Wikipedia

Discover a Vast Glacial Landscape

Imagine a journey out onto the rugged icefields of an ancient glacier; the chance to experience the magnificence of such a powerful force of nature. If that sounds exciting to you, then you won’t want to miss the Icefields Parkway—a scenic drive that winds its way between Jasper and Lake Louise passing through the Columbia Icefield and providing stunning views of the Athabasca Glacier.

The Icefields Parkway and the Athabasca Glacier are one of the Canadian Rockies’ most beautiful and fascinating sights. Stop a while at the Columbia Icefield Glacier Discovery Centre, check out the stunning views from the Columbia Icefield Skywalk, take a unique Columbia Icefield Adventure on a massive Ice Explorer. The glacier has been here for thousands of years—stay and explore for a while!

Source: banffjaspercollection.com

Lake Louise Experience a Piece of Paradise! One of the most photographed scenes in the Canadian Rockies, Lake Louise is an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise. Famous for its stunning turquoise lake, and beautiful chateau, the town is surrounded by some of the best hikes in Banff National Park and has a world class ski hill on the doorstep. As a visitor to Lake Louise you really do feel closer to nature.                   The town itself is a charming resort town with a small shopping centre containing everything you’ll need, and a handful of top-notch restaurants.

Jasper National Park is the largest of the Canadian Rockies national parks, and a rugged, unspoiled wilderness. The charming town of Jasper, is the perfect base  where visitors can find a varied and eclectic selection of restaurants and diverse range of shops. Jasper is also home to large populations of wildlife including grizzly bears, moose, caribou and wolves.

Edmonton, capital of Canada’s Alberta province, sits on the North Saskatchewan River. Its past is recreated at Fort Edmonton Park, a living history museum with an 1846 fort and streets from 1885, 1905 and 1920. The city’s contemporary landmarks include the Royal Alberta Museum, with aboriginal-culture and natural-history galleries, and the futuristic-looking Art Gallery of Alberta, known for its First Nations art.