Iqaluit

Capital of Nunavut in the Canadian Arctic, a small Inuit city on Baffin Island's Frobisher Bay, offering tundra hikes, dog sledding and northern lights.

Iqaluit is the capital of Nunavut, Canada, located at the head of Frobisher Bay in southeastern Baffin Island. With about 8,000 residents, more than half of them Inuit, it is Canada's northernmost city. No roads lead here: you can only fly in from Ottawa, Montreal and elsewhere (about 3 hours from Ottawa), though supply ships also arrive in summer. The town is small enough to explore on foot or by taxi: the seaside Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, the Legislative Assembly, the igloo-shaped St. Jude's Cathedral and many Inuit carving and printmaking studios. Outside town are the tundra trails of Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, the beach at Apex and the Road to Nowhere; the Thule site of Qaummaarviit and the more distant Katannilik Territorial Park require a guide and a trip by boat or sled. The seasons differ dramatically: Jul–Aug is ice-free, with temperatures around 5–15°C and nearly 20 hours of daylight, good for hiking and boating; Mar–May brings solid sea ice and plenty of sunshine, ideal for dog sledding, snowmobiling and northern lights, with the Toonik Tyme festival in April; winters are long and bitterly cold, dropping below -30°C. Plan on 3–5 days and leave time for weather delays. Prices are very high, and accommodation and guides should be booked in advance; alcohol is regulated locally; ask permission before photographing people, and check export permit requirements before buying seal, narwhal or other animal products.

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