COLOURFUL SPECTACLE:
FALL IN THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES

Dear Canada friend,

in the Northwest Territories, the first summer season after a long COVID lockdown has just terminated – and it was a blast! As pre-pandemic, visitors enjoyed the superlative landscape, incredible wildlife viewing opportunities and friendly hosts. Now, fall has arrived, the (short) time of the year when the tundra is covered by a colorful carpet and the Northern lights dance in the sky, before the landscape will dip back into the Arctic white of winter in a few weeks. A perfect time to dream away into the Northwest Territories and use our new product ideas to maybe even start making real travel plans for next summer.
Enjoy reading!

NEW WITH TUNDRA NORTH TOURS:
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL EXPERIENCE AT
OKPIK ARCTIC VILLAGE

Located 16 kilometres North of Inuvik, lies Okpik Arctic Village. This authentic Arctic village can be reached exclusively by boat on the Mackenzie River in summer and by ice road in winter. Here, people live in harmony with nature, combining traditional values and practices with today's technology.

During Tundra North Tours' 3-days summer program, guests can experience the revitalization of the Indigenous culture and learn about cabin building, harvesting and food processing allowing the residents to live as close to nature as possible. They too can connect with nature in the most unique and intimate way, take part in activities such as storytelling by local Elders or hide tanning and taste food the land in cultural meals. They can hike along the trapline, where they will experience the mesmerizing surroundings of the Mackenzie River Delta while learning about hunting and trapping in the Arctic. A boat tour will include checking fish nets for the catch of the day and forage on the tundra for traditional summer food from the land, such as plants and berries. Accommodation is in traditional lodgings such as a tipi, wall tent, sod house or cabin.

Further information can be found at Okpik Arctic Village.


Contact:
Tundra North Tours
Kylik Kisoun Taylor
kylik@tundranorthtours.com

VIEW THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
AT AURORA VILLAGE

The Northwest Territories are the "Aurora Capital of the World"! Here, the conditions are simply ideal to enjoy the magical Aurora Borealis starting as of mid August.

A great place for seeing the Northern Lights is Aurora Village, a tipi village about 30 minutes outside of Yellowknife. Guests are given an all-inclusive package, including transfers from their accommodation in town. At Aurora Village, the waiting time until the Aurora shows up can be spent in different ways, depending on the season: Dog sledding tours are just as enjoyable as adventurous excursions on snowshoes. Appropriate equipment - including warm clothing - can be rented on site. And as soon as the magical lights start to dance in the sky, the actual Aurora Viewing Tours depart to the best viewing points. Or, you can simply take a seat on one of the cozily heated "Viewing Seats", directly in the Aurora Village.

Contact:
Aurora Village
Kota Kanamori
kota@auroravillage.com
marketing@auroravillage.com

BLACHFORD LAKE LODGE

About a 30-minute flight southeast of Yellowknife is Blachford Lake Lodge, a luxury wilderness resort with excellent Aurora viewing opportunities. Guests land on Blachford Lake by floatplane virtually right outside the front door. The lodge's exclusive main building is uniquely situated on a rocky hill on the shore of the lake and offers a wonderful view of the unique landscape as well as the Northern lights. Visitors can stay overnight in the guest rooms of the main lodge or in one of the cozy cabins, which are spread around the area. During the day, exciting outdoor adventures in the wilderness await, from which they can recover in the evening under the starry Aurora sky with an exquisite dinner or in the soothing hot tub.

Blachford Lake Lodge is one of Destination Canada‘s Canadian Signature Experiences.


Contact:
Blachford Lake Lodge
Katherine Johnson
Katherine@blachfordlakelodge.com

NEW VISITOR CENTRE IN YELLOWKNIFE

In September, a new Visitor Centre opened its doors in Yellowknife's Centre Square Mall. When designing the premises, attention was paid to a local cultural context. For the first time, there is a space dedicated to the history of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation. The space also recognizes Yellowknife’s gold mining heritage, with a gold-plated path leading visitors through the centre. An Aurora simulator also pays tribute to the Northern Lights, flagship of Yellowknife and the entire Northwest Territories.

The visitor centre's state-of-the-art amenities include a Genius Bar - despite Yellowknife being thousands of kilometres from the nearest Apple Store. A row of tablets accommodates the shift from paper brochures to digital resources. They offer visitors more information on locations and experiences mentioned elsewhere in the centre and allow to book trips and activities directly with local tour operators. Similarly, many photos and information sheets on display at the centre have QR codes, so more details can be discovered online.

On top of the traditional visitor information, the new Visitor Centre also comes with a gallery space for Indigenous artwork of the North. On its opening day, the gallery hosted the work of Dene artist Melaw Nakehk’o.

The new Visitor Centre is open from 10 am to 6 pm daily.

For more information on Yellowknife visit Extraordinary YK.

NEW WELCOME CENTRE IN INUVIK

After several years of planning and construction, a new visitor center opened in Inuvik in June 2022 – the Inuvik Welcome Centre. Canada's largest city north of the Arctic Circle has a population of around 3,500 and is located on a flat, forested plateau near the northern timberline at the transition from taiga to tundra. This ist he country of the Gwich’in and Inuvialuit – Canada’s northernmost people. It is the end of the legendary Dempster Highway and the start of the still fairly new Inuvik-Tuktoyaktuk Highway, which leads another 137 kilometres to the Arctic Ocean. The Inuvik Welcome Centre in Chief Jim Koe Park is the first point of contact in town for any traveler. In addition to information on local visitor programs, there are also many tips and booking opportunities for excursions to Tuktoyaktuk and the Western Arctic.

The Inuvik Welcome Center was designed as a holistic place for visitors and locals. A wooden boardwalk behind the building is a new home for the town's outdoor Arctic Market, which is held once a week with local producers and artists.

Further information can be found at Inuvik.

NEW ART GALLERY IN YELLOWKNIFE

„The Gallery on 47th“ is the name of the new art gallery that is an exhibition space for Yellowknife‘s art scene since early September 2022. In weekly rotation, artworks by local artists are exhibited, including Carey Bray or Aidan Cartwright, but also the opening of the Cape Dorset Print Collection 2022, an annual print collection of Inuit artworks.

Further information can be found at https://thegalleryon47thstreet.square.site.

IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, PLEASE DON'T HESITATE TO GET IN TOUCH WITH:

Michaela Arnold German Market Representative c/o Denkzauber GmbH Tel. +49 2151-5124669 michaela@spectacularnwt.de Until next time! > Imprint