Canada
Qikiqtarjuaq — "big island" in Inuktitut — is a small Inuit hamlet of approximately 600 residents perched on Broughton Island, off the eastern coast of Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut. The community sits at the entrance to the vast fiord systems of the Cumberland Peninsula, surrounded by some of the most dramatic mountain and glacier scenery in the eastern Arctic. Qikiqtarjuaq's claim to fame in the expedition cruise world is its position as the gateway to Auyuittuq National Park — whose name means "the land that never melts" — a wilderness of glaciers, granite peaks, and the spectacular Akshayuk Pass that has been called the most awe-inspiring hiking route in the Canadian Arctic.
The community itself is a colourful cluster of prefabricated houses, a school, a church, and the essential Northern Store that provides groceries and supplies to a population that still relies substantially on country food — caribou, Arctic char, ringed seal, and the narwhal that pass through the coastal waters in summer. The hamlet's position at the edge of the pack ice makes it one of the most important narwhal hunting locations in Nunavut, and the traditional hunt — conducted from boats using methods refined over millennia — remains a defining cultural practice. The carvings produced by Qikiqtarjuaq's artists, working primarily in serpentine stone, are sold through the local co-operative and rank among the finest contemporary Inuit art produced in the eastern Arctic.
Auyuittuq National Park, accessible from Qikiqtarjuaq by boat or snowmobile, is a landscape of elemental grandeur. The Penny Ice Cap, remnant of the Laurentide Ice Sheet that once covered all of eastern Canada, feeds glaciers that descend through valleys flanked by granite walls rising over 1,500 metres. Mount Thor, within the park, holds the record for the world's greatest vertical drop — a 1,250-metre granite face that overhangs its base by 105 metres, attracting big-wall climbers from around the world. The Akshayuk Pass, a 97-kilometre valley that cuts through the Penny Highlands between Pangnirtung and Qikiqtarjuaq, is traversed by backpackers who rate it among the most challenging and rewarding wilderness hikes on the planet.
The wildlife surrounding Qikiqtarjuaq includes the polar bears that patrol the floe edge, the belugas and narwhals that migrate through the coastal leads, and the Arctic char that run the rivers in late summer in numbers that transform the streams into silver ribbons of fish. Ringed seals haul out on the ice throughout the year, and the cliff-nesting thick-billed murres that colonise the coastal headlands provide a visual and auditory spectacle during the breeding season. The midnight sun, present from late May through late July, bathes the granite peaks and glaciers in a warm, golden light that Arctic photographers consider among the most beautiful illumination conditions on Earth.
Qikiqtarjuaq is visited by expedition cruise ships navigating the eastern Canadian Arctic, with passengers landing by Zodiac at the community beach. The brief summer season — July through September — provides the only access, and ice conditions determine the feasibility of each visit. The community welcomes visitors with cultural presentations, guided walks, and the opportunity to purchase stone carvings directly from the artists. For those who reach Qikiqtarjuaq, the combination of Inuit cultural vitality, world-class Arctic scenery, and the proximity of one of Canada's most spectacular national parks creates an expedition experience of extraordinary depth and beauty.