SELLINg CANADA Globe hopping
36 Six / Canada of the best... back to business
Open
door policy Canada reopens its borders to UK travellers on September 7, with a raft of new attractions, experiences and hotels waiting to welcome visitors, says Stuart Forster
M
eltwater glistens far below us on the valley floor. Momentarily reflecting the sun as our light aircraft banks right, the sediment-laden water of the Alsek River flashes gold. During the Klondike Gold Rush, which began in 1896, as many as 100,000 prospectors dreamt of seeing that same colour here in the Yukon. This Icefield Discovery sightseeing
flight over Kluane National Park and Reserve is an opportunity to view the St Elias Icefields. Through headsets dampening noise from the throbbing engine, our pilot informs us that what we can see is the world’s largest nonpolar icefield. It’s a kilometre deep and a legacy of the last Ice Age. I peer down and spot a sapphire ice pool amid scar-like crevasses. Up ahead, the icefield curves gently into the distance like a motorway. It heads into a mountainous wilderness that’s home to creatures including Dall sheep, mountain goats and grizzly bears. We follow the sweep
of the valley then gain altitude. Ahead, virgin snow quilts a plateau beneath a row of jagged peaks. Several of the mountains in this national park rise well above 5,000 metres (16,400 ft). The pilot points right towards Mount Logan, Canada’s highest mountain, then over to Mount Elias, which straddles the country’s border with the USA. I sigh at the beauty of this remote landscape – the Yukon is a wondrous place to explore.
Canada ready for UK travellers After more than a year of being ‘out of bounds’ to UK travellers, Canada has said it will relax its entry restrictions for international travellers from September 7.
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