Banff National Park in Canada, Alberta

Introduction :
The Banff National Park is the oldest park in Canada located in the province of Alberta and is part of the North American Rocky Mountains range. It has a resort town nearby and is one of Canada’s most attractive tourist destinations known for its spectacular lakes and mountain peaks. The total area 6641 square km of mountain terrains, glaciers, alpine landscapes and ice fields

The Banff Mountains
Image attribution to Redeo @ Flickr

Some attractions :

The Icefields Parkway – A scenic route when travelling inside the Banff National Park passing by some places of interest like that Crowfoot Glacier, the Bow summit, Mistaya Canyon and Athabasca Falls.

Peyto Lake – A lake fed by the Peyto Creek draining its water from the Caldron Lake and Peyto Glacier with large amounts of glacial rock flowing to the Peyto Lake giving the lake a bright tourquoise color.

Sulphur Mountain – You can choose to take a ride or hike to the top of this mountain which comprises of also 2 commercially developed hot springs

Moraine Lake – A lake fed by the rock flour from glaciers and includes a scenic view of the Valley of the Ten Peaks just across the lake

Plain of Six Glaciers – The six galciers involved are the hanging glacies of Mount Aberdeen, LEfroy and Victoria together with the Lower Victoria and Lefroy glaciers and the hanging glacier on Popes Peak. This is a classic hike trip in Banff National Park and takes 5-6 hours to complete a more than 14 km. The trails bring you up close to he heart of Mount Lefroy, Mount Victoria and the Voctoria Glacier before finally reaching the Tea House which is built in 1924 and is a rest stop for mountain climbers to Abbots Pass.

The waters from the Peyto Creek in Peyto Lake
Image attribution to Rock Cousteau @ Flickr

The Banff Springs Hotel

Lake Lousie and the Fairmont Hotel from far

History :
Human evidence were discovered as early as 11,000 BC in the Bow Valley before the Europeans arrived in the 1700s. Anthony Henday was believed to be the first non native to set foot in the area. The Banff National Park was established in 1885 and is the oldest national park in Canadian history. The park became open full year round since the 1960s and attracted more than 5 million tourists annually in the 1990s.

Castle Mountain

The Moraine Lake with the Valley of Ten Peaks

Tea house at the Plain of Six Galciers
Image attribution to Redeo @ Flickr

Getting there :
The nearest international airport to Banff is the Calgary International Airport followed by a 140 km road trip to the Banff National Park