Located just north of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut is the northernmost town in Greenland where the port remains free of ice in the winter. Yet it is also the southernmost town where there is enough snow and ice to drive a dogsled in winter and spring. In Sisimiut, travelling by sled has been the primary means of winter transportation for centuries. In fact, the area has been inhabited for approximately 4,500 years. Modern Sisimiut is the largest business center in the north of Greenland, and is one of the fastest growing Greenlandic cities. Commercial fishing is the lead economy in the town‘s thriving industrial base.

Known as the birthplace of icebergs, the Ilulissat Icefjord produces nearly 20 million tons of ice each day. In fact, the word Ilulissat means “icebergs” in the Kalaallisut language. The town of Ilulissat is known for its long periods of calm and settled weather, but the climate tends to be cold due to its proximity to the fjord. Approximately 4,500 people live in Ilulissat, the third-largest town in Greenland after Nuuk and Sisimiut. Some people here estimate that there are nearly as many sled dogs as human beings living in the town that also boasts a local history museum located in the former home of Greenlandic folk hero and famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen.

Aappilattoq is a small settlement near the western end of Prins Christian Sund in southwestern Greenland. In the local Greenlandic language the name means, "sea anemone". This small village of 130 inhabitants, hidden behind a prominent rock, offers a good insight into the life of Greenlandic Inuit. A stroll through the village will reveal a small school and a church, along with the likely possibility of seeing a polar bear skin drying in the wind behind a local dwelling. People have lived off the land in the area around Aappilattoq since the 19th century. The tradition continues today as most people here hunt and fish to make a living.

Located in northern Baffin Island, Pond Inlet is a small, predo¬minantly Inuit community, with a population of roughly 1,500 inhabitants. In 1818, the British explorer John Ross named a bay in the vicinity after the English astronomer John Pond. Today Pond Inlet is considered one of Canada's "jewels of the North" thanks to several picturesque glaciers and mountain ranges nearby. Many archaeological sites of ancient Dorset and Thule peoples can be found near Pond Inlet. The Inuit hunted caribou, ringed and harp seals, fish, polar bears, walrus, narwhals, geese, ptarmigans and Arctic hares, long before European and American whalers came here to harvest bowhead whales. Pond Inlet is also known as a major center of Inuit art, especially the printmaking and stone carving that are featured in the town’s art galleries.

Dundas Harbour is located in the southeast of Devon Island, Canada’s 6th largest island. It is a forlorn but starkly beautiful spot. The island was first sighted by Europeans in 1616 by the English explorers Robert Bylot and William Baffin. But it did not appear on maps until after explorer William Edward Parry’s exploration in the 1820’s. Parry named it after Devon, England. In the local Inuktitut language, the place is called Talluruti, which translates as “a woman’s chin with tattoos on it.” This refers to the deep crevasses and streaks on Devon Island, which from a distance resemble traditional facial tattoos. On land there are remains of a Thule settlement dating back to 1000 A.D., including tent rings, middens and a gravesite. There are also much more recent remains a Royal Canadian Mounted Police outpost. The first post was established in 1924 to monitor and control illegal activities, such as foreign whaling, in the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage. But conditions were so isolated and severe that the post was abandoned in 1933. It was reopened in 1945, but again closed, this time permanently, in 1951. Today, Devon Island is the largest uninhabited island in the world.

Prince Leopold Island (Appait) rises abruptly from Lancaster Sound. Its cliffs form one of the Canadian Arctic’s most important seabird breeding sites; by September many birds may already have departed, but northern fulmars, kittiwakes and thick-billed murres can still be seen offshore. Seals in the surrounding waters may also attract polar bears.

Across the sound, Port Leopold recalls the many expeditions sent in search of Sir John Franklin. HMS Enterprise and HMS Investigator wintered here in 1848–49, and the remains of later commercial activity add further layers to the site. If conditions permit, we hope to walk the coast and consider this history alongside evidence of Inuit presence that long predates the explorers.

Beechey Island is a small island off the southwest coast of Devon Island, separated by a narrow waterway called the Barrow Strait. Captain William Edward Parry was the first European to visit the island in 1819. His lieutenant, Frederick William Beechey, named the island after his father, the artist William Beechey (1753–1839). Beechey Island played a significant role in the history of Arctic Exploration. During the winter of 1845-46, Sir John Franklin and his men camped on the island as part of their ill-fated quest to find the Northwest Passage. Mummified remains of three of Franklin’s crew were discovered, giving a better understanding of what happened before the disappearance of the expedition. In 1850 Edward Belcher used the island as a base while surveying the area. Later, in 1903, Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen stopped at the island at the beginning of his successful voyage in search for the Northwest Passage. Subsequently, Beechey Island has been declared a "Territorial Historic Site" since 1975 by the Northwest Territories government

Devon Island is Canada’s sixth largest island and was first seen by Europeans in the early 17th century. The Thule culture had already settled there many centuries before, and left behind qarmat homes, made of rocks, whale bones, rock and sod walls, and skins for roofs that tell a story of over 800 years of human habitation. Other striking finds in this area are the many fossils of corals, crinoids and nautiloids that can be seen. Just across Lancaster Sound is Prince Leopold Island, a Canadian Important Bird Area, a federally listed migratory bird sanctuary, and a Key Migratory Bird Terrestrial Habitat site with large numbers of Thick-billed Murres, Northern Fulmars and Black-legged Kittiwakes that breed there.

Bellot Strait is one of the most dramatic and technically challenging waterways in the Northwest Passage. Barely two kilometres wide at its narrowest point, it separates Somerset Island from the Boothia Peninsula and is swept by strong tides and shifting ice. Our transit and activities will depend entirely on safe conditions.

We hope to explore in the vicinity of Fitzroy Inlet, Bellot Strait or Strzelecki Harbour. These sheltered waterways and austere shores invite Zodiac cruising and tundra walks, while their position at the northern edge of mainland North America evokes the navigational challenges faced by earlier expeditions. We will watch for polar bears, seals, beluga and seabirds along the ice edge and coast.

An early visit to Pasley Bay may connect us with the story of the RCMP schooner St Roch and its pioneering Northwest Passage voyages under Henry Larsen. Inuit knowledge, local assistance and Arctic seamanship were essential to such journeys, just as they remain central to safe travel here today.

Later, we continue west through the maze of channels around Prince of Wales and Prince William islands. If conditions allow, a Zodiac excursion may take us towards a remote cairn or unplanned landing. These unscripted opportunities are at the heart of expedition travel, with the possibility of wildlife sightings and traces of earlier journeys revealed by the day’s route.

As we sail towards Victoria Island, join the Expedition Team for presentations on Inuit archaeology, polar exploration and the wildlife of the western Arctic. Time on deck may bring sightings of seals, whales or migrating birds.

Later, we hope to visit Iqaluktuuttiaq, or Cambridge Bay, whose Inuinnaqtun name means ‘place of many fish’. This important western Nunavut community has long been a gathering place, supported by rich fishing and hunting grounds. Its more recent polar history includes Roald Amundsen’s ship Maud, which spent years in the area after becoming trapped in ice and eventually sank in the harbour. A community visit offers insight into contemporary Inuit life and the enduring connections between people, land and sea.

Our final full expedition day takes us into the western channels of the passage. We hope to explore around Cape Barrow and a remote island to its north, where low tundra, gravel ridges and broad sea views create opportunities for a final landing or Zodiac cruise. Musk oxen, Arctic foxes, seals and passing whales may be present, while the open landscape encourages reflection on the distances travelled by Inuit families, traders and polar expeditions.

Tonight, gather with fellow travellers and the Expedition Team to celebrate a journey shaped by ice, history and the many communities and cultures of the Arctic.

In Kugluktuk, farewell the crew, Expedition Team and fellow travellers before transferring to the airport for our charter flight to Calgary. The voyage concludes on arrival at Calgary Airport.

Note: Our arrival time in Calgary depends on the allocated charter-flight slots, which we expect to receive in March 2028. We recommend allowing flexibility when arranging onward travel.