The Baffin Sea

It all begins in Kangerlussaq, tucked away at the end of a fjord north of the Arctic Circle. Join an optional discovery of the Polar Cap. A complimentary group flight from Paris is Kangerlussaq is also included in your cruise fare.

Le Boreal then slips towards llulissat, meaning the “village of icebergs”, and the stunning Disko Bay UNESCO World Heritage Site. The sculptural icebergs continue on their timeless journey, shimmering with their eternal light. Vast pieces of ice break off from the bergs and rejoin the inexorable movement of the sea. Close by lies the town of Ilulissat, the region’s principal destination. Encircled by icebergs, it has retained a unique mix of traditional Arctic life, with multicoloured wooden houses, huskies and the leather tanners who still work today using the ancient methods of their ancestors.

Further north, the Eqi Glacier has an impressive beauty that sends shivers up the spine! Here the silence is broken only by the sudden roar of falling ice. The base cabin from which Paul-Emile Victor led the French polar expeditions in the fifties is close by.

Le Boreal continues her route to the North. Naturalist speakers bring to life the history of those adventurers and their Arctic expeditions to uncertain destinations, stories which continue to feed our imaginations today. Cruise along the Upernavik Fjord.

Explore Melville Bay and sail amidst the ice.

Savissivik is the site of the Peary meteorites and the biggest “graveyards” of icebergs in the world. It is the country of narwal hunters in kayaks. This imposing cetacean is also known as the “unicorn of the seas”. You may even be lucky enough to see polar bears.

Placed like a custodian on the northern edge of Baffin Island, Pond Inlet appears to guard over the entrance to the legendary North West Passage. Formerly called Tununiq by the Inuit, this region was long ago inhabited by their ancestors, the Thule, who left behind numerous archaeological artifacts, little vestiges of the past. No matter where you look, your eyes alight upon a unique landscape of snow-capped mountain ranges, each more beautiful than the last, standing opposite ice-blue glaciers whose vertiginous flows descend into the ocean. In the summertime, when the sun doesn’t set below the horizon, the light is truly magical, a palette of opaline blues, dusky pinks, and pure white. Don’t miss the opportunity to see the bird colonies of Bylot Island; your ship sails you close to this uninhabited "Garden of Eden" so that you may wonder at its natural marvels.

During zodiac outings, on hikes, or from the observation points on Le Boréal, view migratory bird sanctuaries on the cliffs.

Meet the orcas and whales of Isabella Bay. All these imposing landscapes symbolize the beliefs of the Inuit for whom time is eternal - borrow some of this eternity and savor the majestic beauty of the Arctic, a land rarely trodden by man.

The landscape is magnificent, all contrast and shade, rocky tundra, high mountains, icebergs brought in on cold currents from Canada - you are in Baffin Land, a unique and authentic experience. This part of the world is an undiscovered country, so take the time to look around you and explore its hidden treasures: Arctic guillemots, elegant belugas, humpback whales, and walruses, an extraordinary animal kingdom. Today Le Boreal crosses the mythical Davis Strait which links Baffin Land to Greenland.

Disembark this morning for your continued journey home. A complimentary group flight to Paris is also included in your cruise fare.