The 14 best things to do in Nunavut, Canada
Canada’s northernmost province, Nunavut is one of the most deserted places on earth. Here are the top things to do in this land of tundra and ice.
Canada’s northernmost province, Nunavut is one of the most deserted places on earth and the perfect getaway for loners, crowd avoiders and extreme adventurers. If the territory were a country, it would be the world’s 13th largest, and its most sparsely populated.
Resourceful travelers who make the journey out here (normally by air, via Iqaluit) can investigate Inuit culture, pursue extreme adventures in five barely visited national parks, drop in on remote communities such as Rankin Inlet and Cambridge Bay, or just fill in a piece of the Canadian jigsaw that few others get to experience.
Traveling to and around Nunavut can be a challenge. There are no interconnecting roads, sea ice blocks maritime routes for much of the year and air travel to the region can be prohibitively expensive. If you thought the Yukon and the Northwest Territories were off the grid, Nunavut’s colossal wilderness will test your nerve (and budget) even further.
Yet, if you’re the type of traveler who likes to swim against the tide and explore alone rather than follow the crowd, Nunavut could be your icy Eden. Here are the 14 best things to do in Nunavut.
1. Immerse yourself in Indigenous history and culture in Iqaluit
Nunavut’s capital, Iqaluit has an unusual, non-linear layout, interrupted by various hills and crags, and crossed by a mix of asphalt and unpaved streets. The best place to get oriented is the Unikkaarvik Visitor Centre by the waterfront – this is also the town’s best museum, with exhibits on Inuit culture and a fearsome stuffed polar bear.
Next door is the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum, with temporary art exhibitions and a small permanent collection of Indigenous clothing, kayaks and tools from the Thule community. While on the art prowl, call by Carvings Nunavut, with its diverse selection of Inuit serpentine and whalebone sculptures for sale, and Northern Collectables, an old curiosity shop stuffed with prints from Cape Dorset (Kinngait) luminaries.
The city’s Legislative Assembly offers entertaining free tours (by appointment) of Nunavut’s prefab parliament with its Indigenous design touches. You can admire its igloo-like interior, seal-skin benches and seats for community elders.
Detour: There are some good spots to grab a bite in Iqaluit. Black Heart Cafe offers a cozy slice of Iqaluit life along with bulging sandwiches and potent coffee, while The Frob restaurant in the Frobisher Inn offers northern classics like roasted Arctic char. For a little more pizzazz, try the upmarket restaurant at the Aqsarniit Hotel, with an international menu of surprising dishes such as Haitian chicken.
2. Get a taste of the tundra in Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park
Wider Baffin Island sparkles enigmatically just beyond Iqaluit’s city limits. Split in two by the Baffin River, Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park is the city’s window into the vast emptiness of the tundra. You can contemplate its dizzying scale at a bleakly beautiful viewpoint overlooking two mini waterfalls that adorn the river mouth.
The park is popular with tent campers and fishers pursuing Arctic char. A well-signposted path starting at an enclosed pavilion traces the river’s east bank, or you can scramble up rocky escarpments to where cairns beckon and ravens caw.
Detour: The park entrance is 2km (just over 1 mile) from downtown, and its sign sits adjacent to a green warehouse housing NuBrewCo, Canada’s most northerly brewery. Stop in for taster flights on your way back to town. 
3. Hike the Apex trail and walk the Road to Nowhere
For a rewarding Iqaluit hike, the Apex Trail in Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park contours a rocky bluff overlooking Frobisher Bay for 2.5km (1.5 miles) between the city’s diminutive cemetery and the sandy beach that lies below the outlying hamlet of Apex.
The path juxtaposes boggy muskeg with some minor rock scrambles but it's easy to follow and relatively well-trafficked. Sandy Apex Beach, where icebergs linger well into July, is the site of several sea-ravaged Hudson Bay Company buildings dating from the 1940s. From here, you can either retrace your steps or walk back along an unpaved road to Iqaluit.
The mysteriously named Road to Nowhere undulates from the city’s prefab suburbs for 3.5km (just over 2 miles) before dead-ending at the town’s rudimentary shooting range, often shrouded in mist. It makes for a great early morning walk or run.
Planning tip: The Apex Trail follows a coastal route with sections near the water, so aim to hike during low tide. Cell service is unreliable, so having an offline GPS map can also help with navigation.
4. Step inside the igloo-inspired St Jude’s Igloo Cathedral
Iqaluit’s most emblematic edifice is St Jude’s Igloo Cathedral, the second incarnation of a similar church that burnt down in 2005. The new structure maintains the igloo-inspired design, with a circular layout and a skylight that bathes the interior in natural light. Located near Iqaluit’s waterfront, the cathedral is easily accessible on foot from most parts of the city.
Inside, the cathedral is adorned with Inuit artwork, including a stunning narwhal tusk cross and sealskin-covered pews, blending Christian motifs with Indigenous cultural traditions. Visitors are free to stroll around and admire the cathedral’s unique design, attend a Sunday service or simply sit and reflect in the quiet sanctuary. 
5. Trek the Akshayunk Pass in Auyuittuq National Park
In Anuyuittuq National Park on Baffin Island, the 100km (62-mile) Akshayunk Pass route is probably Nunavut’s most doable long-distance hike, and it’s best undertaken between mid-July and early September. Even in summer, you’ll need to be well equipped.
It’s best to start in Qikiqtarjuaq and hike south towards Pangnirtung. Boat transfers can be organized at both ends of the trail. Although there are few discernible paths, the trek follows a broad open valley so it’s hard to get lost, as you climb to a height of 500m (1640ft) and cross the Arctic Circle en route.
Planning tip: If traveling independently, it is necessary to pre-register your trip with Parks Canada and attend a mandatory orientation session. Alternatively, agencies can arrange supported hikes along the eight to 12-day route.
6. Brush up on Kinngait’s artistic legacy
If art hubs were measured by the number of artists compared to their total population, Kinngait (Cape Dorset until 2020) would rival Florence and Paris. This tiny community perched amid low hills on a rocky island just off Baffin Island’s Foxe Peninsula is renowned throughout Canada as the capital of Inuit art.
Alongside traditional art styles, modern printmaking techniques have been passed down through families since the late 1950s, with artists such as Kenojuak Ashevak garnering international attention for their eye-catching, nature-inspired designs.
Kinngait upped the ante with the opening of the Kenojuak Cultural Centre and Print Shop in 2018, housed in a blue box-like construction on a ridge above town. The facility features an exhibition space and a state-of-the-art print workshop where you can watch masters at work employing dexterous stone-cut, lithograph and stenciling techniques.
Planning tip: Many artists in Kinngait work in home-based studios, and visitors may be able to arrange a private tour or commission a piece through the West Baffin Eskimo Co-op, the oldest and most influential Inuit-owned artists' co-op in Canada. 
7. Experience the remote wonders of Cambridge Bay
For a remote community adventure, cold, blustery Cambridge Bay is a regional center on Victoria Island that acts as a stopover for small cruise ships navigating the icy waters of the Northwest Passage.
Its best and newest attraction is the state-of-the-art Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS), which attracts scientists worldwide as a hub for monitoring climate change. Visitors are welcome by pre-appointment to observe the station at work.
Cambridge Bay is also known for its crafts, including clothing made with qiviut (the supremely warm inner wool of the musk ox). Ovayok Territorial Park, 15km (9 miles) to the east along a rough road, is a prime place to see musk oxen, with good views from Mt Pelly, a 183m-high (600ft) sand-gravel ridge.
Planning tip: If you’re visiting in late summer, you’re in for a treat. Cambridge Bay is one of the best places in Nunavut to witness Arctic char spawning. Red and orange fish fill local rivers and fishing trips can be arranged with local guides. Char is also featured on menus around town.
8. Carve through arctic landscapes in Katannilik Territorial Park
A vast stretch of tundra and frozen rivers, Katannilik Territorial Park is a snowmobiler’s paradise, linking Kimmirut to Iqaluit via the 120km (75-mile) Itijjagiaq Trail, a traditional Inuit route that becomes an adrenaline-fueled snowmobile highway once the snow sets in.
Marked by inukshuks (anthropomorphic cairns) and a few warming huts along the way, the trail carves through a dramatic landscape of steep valleys, rolling hills and frozen waterfalls, with the Soper River creating an icy ribbon through the heart of the park.
Planning tip: Late winter and early spring are the best times to ride, when the snowpack is firm and daylight stretches long into the evening. While it’s possible to navigate the Itijjagiaq Trail solo, guided snowmobile expeditions from Kimmirut or Iqaluit are available for those looking to explore the remote backcountry with local support.
9. Up your chances of seeing polar bears in Rankin Inlet
Guarded by an enormous inukshuk, the remote village of Rankin Inlet grew up around nickel mining in the late 1950s and it’s mainland Nunavut’s largest community, thanks in part to new gold and mineral mines that have maintained its economic importance.
The surrounding region of Kivalliq is flat and wind-swept, providing an important refuge for caribou and waterfowl. Traversed by wild rivers, it takes in the Hudson Bay coast and the Barrenlands to the west.
Ukkusiksalik National Park, reachable from Rankin Inlet or Naujaat by boat or charter flight, is the prize here, with one of the world’s greatest concentrations of polar bears. See them on organized boat trips or accompanied hikes with a bear guard.
Planning tip: If you don’t mind arriving when the weather is still cold, Pakallak Tyme is an annual festival held in Rankin Inlet, celebrating the arrival of spring. Typically taking place in May, the festival features snowmobile races, community feasts, talent shows, square-dancing contests and snow sculpture competitions.
10. Walk in the footsteps of Thule hunters in Qaummaarviit Territorial Park
For a Nunavut trip that doesn’t involve detailed pre-planning or a plane journey, take a 12km (7.5-mile) boat or snowmobile ride to the tiny bay island of Qaummaarviit Territorial Park, in Peterhead Inlet, where you’ll find the remains of a 750-year-old Thule winter camp.
Here, you can see 11 well-preserved traditional sod houses and a grave site. Many bones and hunting and household artifacts have been found in the vicinity, testifying to the site’s significance for Thule hunters.
Planning tip: Qaummaarviit can be visited as a half-day trip from Iqaluit; arrange a snowmobile transfer in winter or a boat transfer in summer. A boardwalk trail and illustrated signage complement a printed guide available from the visitor center in Iqaluit.
11. Venture into the wilds of Sirmilik National Park
Sprawling across northern Baffin Island, Sirmilik National Park’s three distinct regions – Bylot Island, the Borden Peninsula and Oliver Sound – each offer their own slice of remote wilderness.
Bylot Island, a designated bird sanctuary, is home to sheer cliffs teeming with thick-billed murres, black-legged kittiwakes and northern fulmars. The Borden Peninsula, by contrast, is a realm of sweeping glaciers and stark mountain ridges, a backcountry haven for experienced ski tourers and hikers.
If you'd rather explore by water, Oliver Sound’s deep fjords carve through the tundra, offering a stunning backdrop for summer kayaking expeditions.
Planning tip: Access to the park is from Pond Inlet, where local outfitters lead guided trips by boat, snowmobile or dogsled, depending on the season.
12. Embark on an arctic safari in Qikiqtarjuaq
Known for its rugged fjords, towering icebergs, and abundant marine life, the remote community of Qikiqtarjuaq is a gateway to some of the Arctic’s most spectacular wildlife encounters. It’s best explored by boat with a local outfitter.
Summer brings opportunities for spotting narwhals, bowhead whales and pods of belugas navigating the frigid waters, while polar bears roam the rocky shores. Seabirds, including thick-billed murres and black guillemots, wheel overhead as boats weave through a maze of glaciers and ice floes.
Planning tip: Outfitters in Qikiqtarjuaq offer customized excursions,
from half-day wildlife-watching tours to multi-day journeys into Auyuittuq National Park
(also accessible from Pangnirtung). For the adventurous, some tours
include opportunities to set foot on the ice, following in the tracks of
Arctic explorers.
13. Conquer the heights of Mt Thor
A monolithic giant rising from the tundra, Mt Thor dominates the skyline of Auyuittuq National Park. Its sheer granite face is the world’s tallest vertical drop, plunging for a staggering 1250m (4100ft), and it's one of Nunavut’s most dramatic sights.
Named after the Norse god of thunder, the mountain’s nearly perpendicular western wall makes it a magnet for elite rock climbers, while the surrounding landscape of jagged peaks, glaciers and winding rivers creates one of the most dramatic backdrops in the Arctic.
For hikers, reaching the base of Mt Thor is an adventure in itself. The peak is reachable via multi-day hikes from Pangnirtung or Qikiqtarjuaq. You’ll cross braided rivers and barren valleys, emerging in front of a jaw-dropping view of the mountain’s immense granite face, streaked with ice and buffeted by Arctic winds.
While the summit remains a prize for only the most experienced climbers, the base of the mountain is a popular camping spot for trekkers looking to take in its formidable presence.
Planning tip: Due to the high-risk nature of the climb, climbers may be asked to provide a detailed itinerary, emergency plan and proof of technical climbing experience to Parks Canada before embarking for the summit.
14. Set sail through Nunavut’s iceberg-laden waters
As the ice recedes under the endless summer daylight, boat tours in Nunavut reveal a breathtaking world of icebergs, fjords and Arctic wildlife. Departing from communities such as Pond Inlet, Qikiqtarjuaq and Arctic Bay, these tours glide past towering glaciers, seabird cliffs and the narwhal-rich waters of Lancaster Sound.
Wildlife sightings are common, with polar bears prowling the ice floes, bowhead whales surfacing in the frigid waters and walrus basking on rocky shores. Some tours venture into Sirmilik and Auyuittuq National Parks, offering dramatic views of sheer cliffs and ancient ice formations.
This article was adapted from Lonely Planet’s Canada guidebook, published in June 2024.
