National Geographic Travel has just announced their list of Canada’s 50 Places of a Lifetime – including 11 spots in BC! Read on to see which BC places National Geographic thinks should be added to your travel bucket list:
The Discovery Islands
“‘The Discovery Islands are everything you imagine the west coast of Canada to be: endless ocean, lush fragrant forests, driftwood-strewn beaches, and ever changing sunset colors with majestic mountains as their backdrop.’” Read more
Aerial view of the harbour on Quadra Island, one of BC’s Discovery Islands. Photo: Russ Heinl
Thompson Okanagan region
“A day in British Columbia’s Thompson Okanagan region could begin in Canada’s only true desert, include visiting a waterfall higher than Niagara (463-foot Helmcken Falls) or hiking in the planet’s only inland temperate rain forest, and end with moonlit views of Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies.” Read more
View of Okanagan Lake and the vineyards near Naramata, in the Thompson Okanagan region. Photo: Don Weixl
Vancouver
“Here you can snowboard, kayak, and play beach volleyball all within the same day, then head to a chic restaurant to dine on sustainable seafood dishes paired with a top-notch local bottle of wine.” Read more
Downtown Vancouver, BC. Photo: Albert Normandin
Victoria
“This small Vancouver Island town punches way above its weight thanks to its status as British Columbia’s capital and its location perched on the ocean. Its streets are dotted with locally owned cafés and restaurants, bohemian shops, and about a dozen craft breweries.” Read more
The Victoria Harbour, with the Fairmont Empress Hotel in the background. Photo: James O’Mara
Heli-hiking in the Bugaboos
“Being deposited by helicopter in the wild for a far-off hike may sound extreme, but those who undertake the adventure do it for the payoff: mile after mile of remote mountain spots absent trails, other hikers, or any sign of civilization.” Read more
Heli-hiking in the Bugaboos, in eastern BC. Photo: Albert Normandin
Tofino
“…remote surfing beaches, humpback and gray whales, black bears and bald eagles, and old-growth rain forests home to some trees thought to be one to two thousand years old.” Read more
Chesterman Beach, in Tofino on Vancouver Island’s West Coast. Photo: Adrian Dorst
Great Bear Rainforest
“Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., calls the Great Bear Rainforest “the planet’s last large expanse of coastal temperate rain forest.” Stretching for more than 250 miles along the coast of British Columbia, the 21-million-acre wilderness is sometimes called the Amazon of the North.” Read more
Spirit bear in BC’s Great Bear Rainforest. Photo: Clare Levy
Gulf & Bowen Islands
“”If you were dropped by helicopter into the Gulf Islands, you’d never think you were in Canada,” says Jesse Keefer, a longtime Galiano Island resident. “I have fig trees, grapes, kiwi fruit, and alligator lizards on my property, and we’re surrounded by manzanita bushes that look like they belong in a much warmer place.”” Read more
View from Salt Spring Island, one of BC’s Gulf Islands. Photo: SYinc
Haida Gwaii
“Known as the Canadian Galápagos for its endemic wildlife, including the ubiquitous Sitka deer visible along the islands’ only main road, this 155-mile-long, torch-shaped archipelago hangs underneath the Alaska panhandle, over 90 nautical miles off British Columbia’s North Coast. ”Read more
Hiker in a moss covered forest in Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve in Haida Gwai. Photo: JF Bergeron
Liard River Hot Springs Provincial Park
“Follow a wooden boardwalk path through a warm-water swamp and boreal forest to soak in Canada’s second largest hot springs.” Read more
Laird Hot Springs Provincial Park in Northern British Columbia. Photo: JF Bergeron
Clayquot Sound Biosphere Reserve
“Set on Vancouver Island’s west coast is Clayoquot Sound, a wild and wondrous network of offshore islands that comprise thousands of miles of alpine valleys and lush fern gardens, forests, rivers, lakes, and laidback beach towns.” Read more
Clayquot Sound on Vancouver Island. Photo: Dannielle Hayes
