Canada – Alberta | Places For Tour

Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada, Alberta

Canada - Alberta Comments Off

Mar 222013

Introduction :
The Waterton Lakes National Park is located in the southwestern corner of Alberta province in Canada. Established in 1895, it is the fourth national park in Canada and measures an area of 505 square km. The Waterton Lakes National Park was also designated as a World Bioshpere reserves as well as World Heritage site in 1979 and 1995 respectively due to its outstanding scenery, rich variety of flora and mammal species as well as its alpine forest and glacial features. The park is famous for its various lake sceneries and also offers scenic trails with the most notable hike the Crypt Lake Trail which was once voted the best hike in Canada.

Scenic view of the national park

The Cameron Falls
Image attribution to outdoorPDK @ Flickr

Crypt Valley scenery during the Crypt Lake Trail
Image attribution to feffef @ Flickr

The Prince of Wales hotel was built in 1927
Image attribution to calamity hane @ Flickr

Summit Lake and Chapman Peak behind the lake
Image attribution to albertascrambler hane @ Flickr

History :
Human history in the Waterton Lakes National Park dates back to nearly 10,000 years ago and the first inhabitants were the ancestors of the later cultures who settled around the region known as the Upper Kutenai comprising of mainly hunters and fisherman and the Blackfoot who were nomadic people highly dependent on bisons. The first European visit to the Waterton Lakes was Lieutenant Thomas Blaskiston of the Palliser Expedition but he named the lake after Sir Charles Waterton to honor him for his scientific achivements.

White Angelica flora species
Image attribution to Jason Sturner 72 @ Flickr

The Blaskiston Falls is named after the first European who set foot on the region
Image attribution to leeco @ Flickr

Moose taking a drink at the Cameron Lake

Unique formation of the Red Rock Canyon

Getting there :
The Lethbridge County Airport (YQL) is the closest airport to the Waterton Lakes National Park and is 138 km away from the destination but only served by flights from Calgary and Edmonton. The nearest international airport is the Calgary International Airport (YYC) and is 274 km away from the national park.

Banff National Park in Canada, Alberta

Canada - Alberta Comments Off

Feb 062013

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

The spectacular scenery in Peyto Lake
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 Banff Mountains
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