Experience the stunning Arctic wilderness of Canada and witness the migration of muskox and polar bears on this 10-day High Arctic expedition. This adventure takes you through 24 hours of sunlight, polar bear and muskox habitats, and amongst a variety of wildlife, including narwhal, snowy owls, and more. Arctic Watch Wilderness Lodge, situated 800 kilometers above the Arctic Circle, is your basecamp as you set out to explore the tundra of Somerset and the coastline of the Northwest Passage. Set out to explore and take pictures of the beautiful Canadian High Arctic with your camera, your team from Arctic Watch, and all the gear you need (including a helicopter for one day of hiking).
Highlights
Witness the migration of muskox and polar bears
ATV ride into Somerset Island's tundra to an area called Muskox Ridge
Enjoy breathtaking views of the Northwest Passage and ice formations on the Arctic ocean
Encounter rarely seen arctic wildlife: polar bears, muskoxen, foxes, snowy owls and more
Involves minimal physical effort and is typically associated with leisurely activities. Activities are low-intensity or last less than a few hours each day.
After breakfast, depart Yellowknife on a private charter for the 3-hour flight to Arctic Watch. Guests will land in the Arctic later that afternoon. After an introduction to the lodge and the surrounding landscape by the Arctic Watch team, guests will have time to settle into their cabins. Before dinner is served, a short hike up to the local mountain is offered; breathtaking views of the Northwest Passage and ice formations on the Arctic ocean. Spend time with your guide that evening, as you prepare your camera gear for the adventure.
ATVs are our most practical form of transportation to cover long distances on the tundra. Attend a hands-on introduction to all-terrain vehicles followed by a short drive to the badlands of Somerset. The area is a distinctive grazing around for muskoxen denoted by salt deposits. The flora, combined with the natural salt deposits attract muskoxen herds. Spend the afternoon following and photographing muskoxen. In August bull muskoxen will battle for breeding rights in the herd. These fights can often be heard from big distances - males colliding heads at 60km/h. Female muskoxen (and young) will often nearly stand in observation. The area is also home to foxes and snowy owls.
A short ATV drive from the lodge, head inland into Somerset Island's tundra to an area called muskox ridge. Deep peat moss and sedge grasses will attract residential muskoxen to spend most of the summer feeding in this area. Herds will wander between feeding sites - looking for the best foliage to graze on. Spending the day hiking the ridge and surrounding area, our goal is to follow and photograph the local herds. An arctic fox den in the vicinity can often have denning kits and snowy owls are known to hunt lemmings in this area.
head onto the Northwest Passage to track polar bears. Climbing aboard our helicopter, Spend the day travelling and stopping to hike areas along the coast where autumn pack ice begins to collect. These areas are often inhabited by polar bears, who are actively hunting seals. Beautiful floating pack ice, the scree slopes of Somerset and the open waters of the Northwest passage are in themselves jaw-dropping. It's also the time of year that narwhal are migrating through. These quiet and gentle marine creatures are often best observed from hill sides on the Northwest Passage or from the air.
Daily excursions led by the Weber Arctic team at Arctic Watch focus on observing, photographing and encountering the animals of Somerset and the Northwest Passage. Guests are provided the best opportunities to photograph unique moments and are welcome to bring handheld and drone based photographic equipment (under the guidance of our team to ensure we don't disturb any Arctic animals).
Day 9: Depart for Yellowknife
1 Breakfast, 1 Lunch, 1 Dinner
By now, guests are familiar with the area, and can opt to do an activity that they missed during the week or would like to repeat. There’s lots of time before the flight departs in the late afternoon. Upon arriving in Yellowknife you will spend the night at the Explorer Hotel before your return flight home.
Day 10: Yellowknife | Return Home
1 Breakfast
Depart Yellowknife for the return flight home..
In the wild and unpredictable Arctic the weather patterns and wildlife can disrupt even the best-laid plans. Therefore all of our itineraries are marked as ‘suggested’. Daily excursions are planned based on guest desires, abilities and interests as well as daily wildlife and weather conditions.
Apologies for the inconvenience. Prices for not yet published. Below per person rate based on previous season. Contact us to confirm upcoming season pricing.
Prices for are estimated based on inflation. Contact us to confirm pricing and availability for your desired departure date.
The trip was terrific with great planning on your part. Most of the adventures were not mainstream and somewhat off the beaten path which made it especially enjoyable!! We felt taken care of and you all were readily available to respond to questions and issues. I would highly recommend your company and friends have already expressed interest based on our pictures and excitement.
Gale Cantor
TrustScore 4.8 | 254 reviews
TrustScore 4.8 of 5
Based on 254 reviews on
2 days ago
The holiday of a lifetime. The company is Alaksa-owned and thhat makes a big difference to the experineces you get i.e. meet genuine First Nations tribes people. The amount of wildlife was beyond my expectation, and seeing everything on sucha small, intimate boat made it even more spoecial and unique.
Liz O
2 days ago
Adventure Life covered all the details in planning our trip to Ireland. Any questions we had were answered immediately. Any trip glitches, which always happen when traveling, were resolved immediately. There were no worries, just fun!
Kathleen Weller
2 days ago
It was an outstanding, up-close, educational vacation of nature, culture, history, animals and geology! It was everything they promised! Binoculars were plentiful on the boat, but I'm glad I brought my own. Food was excellent. Rooms had black-out shades. Pack/wear multiple layers of clothing (I carried a small backpack when off the ship). Crew were delightful and very accommodating! Remember to jump FEET FIRST first when taking the optional polar plunge! Spend as much time outdoors as you are able and ENJOY!!!
Janet Dutton
1 week ago
Excellent travel advice and service
This is my second experience working with Adventure Life. I’m sold. Jess Heuermann is an experienced traveler and provides a lot of useful information when planning a trip. These are the questions I like to ask at the outset - What’s it like to go here, there, what would you suggest, what do people report, can we add any additional side trips? Jess took the time to answer my questions and seek additional information to share with me. Petchie Colina is outstanding in helping with travel logistics and final preparations. Adventure Life has excellent guides and offers private guides and small group adventures. We enjoyed the opportunity to talk with the guides and drivers to learn more about their countries, cultures and histories. A highlight was having the guides pick local restaurants where we could share meals together. Highly recommend.
Claire Cordon
1 week ago
Our six-day tour in Iceland went smoothly with one exception. We had asked for two rooms each night. Somehow we were booked with one room with three beds. It could not be fixed at the first hotel in Reykjavik because the hotel was fully booked. Once informed of the problem, however, Adventure Life rebooked for two rooms for the remainder of the trip. As an 85-year-old traveler, I appreciated that one could participate at different physical levels at many of the stops. Iceland is a great place to visit but on the expensive side.