Page 54 - DreamScapes Magazine | Winter 2022-2023

ENTER THE
GREAT LAND
BY DAVID WEBB
NORTH OF THE 55TH PARALLEL, A LAND OF WINTER ADVENTURE AWAITS.
54 DREAMSCAPES WINTER 2022/2023
Welcome to Nunavik—Québec’s Arctic region—home to Inuit culture, unique communities and three pristine national parks:
IN INUIT ANCESTORS’ FOOTSTEPS
The Koroc River rushes from the Torngat Mountains, a place known to Inuit as “The Land of Spirits.” The lifeblood of Kuururjuaq National Park in summer, come winter, it becomes your pathway to adventure. Fol- lowing a migration route used by nomadic people for millennia, you don snowshoes or skis to explore the heart of this 4,400-square-kilometre park via the Koroc’s icy valley. From the hilltops, gaze over rolling tundra and boreal spruce forests. Sleep in traditional tents while northern lights dance overhead. Tour the friendly community of Kangiqsualujjuaq, set at the mouth of the George River on Ungava Bay, where your trip begins with excitement and finishes with a lifetime of memories.
AN OTHERWORDLY LANDSCAPE
Roughly 1.4 million years ago, a meteorite burned through the Earth’s atmosphere and punched a perfectly round hole into the Arctic tundra making its well-defined edges seem manmade. Now the centrepiece of Pingualuit National Park, this phenomenon is your catalyst for winter- time adventure. Travel 120 kilometres by snowmobile from Kangiqsujuaq, a community set on the Hudson Strait, to a comfortable basecamp at the base of the Pingualuit Crater. Explore these unique environs snowshoeing, skiing and even kite-skiing the frozen expanses within the crater walls in preparation for your adventure: a hut-to-hut ski trip back to Kangiqsujuaq, forging your own path across the tundra.
A VAST WILDERNESS ON THE HUDSON BAY COAST
Stretched over 26,000 square kilometres along the eastern shores of Hudson Bay, Tursujuq National Park is the largest in Québec. Yet few will ever visit—especially during winter. From the neighbouring com- munity of Umiujaq, travel into a landscape where Inuit and Cree have coexisted for more than 3,000 years. Ski and snowmobile deep into this massive parkland, staying each night in cosy yurt-like traditional tents, while learning stories of the land from your Inuit guides. Perhaps the northern lights will make an appearance? A caribou sighting? The trip closes with a journey by snowmobile to Nastapoka Falls, which cut a swath through the snow, followed by a dinner in Umiujaq to celebrate Nunavik’s Great Land. DS
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TRAVEL PLANNER
Plan your all-inclusive winter adventure in Nunavik’s amazing parks; call 1-800-463-7610 or visit nunavikparks.ca
PHOTOS: © J. DAOUST | © ULYSSE LEFEBVRE | © GILLES BOUTIN | © VÉRONIQUE NADEAU OPPOSITE: © HEIKO WITTENBORN | © ISABELLE DUBOIS