Discover, Plan & Go!

Baffin Island is the largest island in the Canadian Arctic and the fifth largest island in the world, and much of it is protected national parks. The vast, unspoilt tundra, the mountainous interior and the hundreds of bays and fjords of the rugged northern coast make the huge 183,000 sq mi island a perfect destination for adventure travelers.

Baffin Island is one of the most sparsely populated areas in the world, with fewer than 10,000 people - mostly small Inuit groups - scattered across the island. The island is named for William Baffin, the British explorer who explored the Arctic in 1616.

Art collectors know Baffin Island as the epicenter of Inuit art production. Yet many have only dreamed of visiting the artists' cooperatives in the remote communities of Cape Dorset or Pangnirtung. To have someone as passionate and knowledgeable about Inuit Art as Ingo Hessel accompanying them will seem like an impossible dream. Quark Expeditions is making the impossible come true! Ingo Hessel will be guest lecturer on board the Circumnavigation of Baffin Island, delivering illustrated talks that commence with an overview of Inuit Art from Russia to Greenland. Subsequent presentations will focus on the art for which each community is celebrated. Landings are planned in Cape Dorset, Kimmirut, and Pangnirtung. Mr. Hessel is an addition to our already formidable team of specialists.

The northeast coast of Baffin Island has many deep fjords with many spectacular glacial and ice-capped mountains. There are towers, spires and pyramids of rock and ice, with sheer and overhanging great rock walls. Be on the lookout for Arctic hare and beluga whale. Travel on the powerful icebreaker and research vessel the Kapitan Klebnikov.

August 2-3: Ottawa to Resolute

Arrive in Ottawa and transfer independently for an overnight stay at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, with opportunities to explore Canada's historic capital. Next morning, fly above the Arctic Circle to Resolute and transfer to the Kapitan Khlebnikov, which sails in the evening.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov

Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

August 4: Bylot Island & Eclipse Sound

Our route follows the 19th-century explorers into Lancaster Sound, home to 26 bird species along with a dozen species of marine mammal. We reach the northwest coast of rugged Bylot Island, a vast migratory bird sanctuary that boasts one of the most diverse avian communities - including Greater Snow Geese, Snowy Owls, Peregrine Falcons and Gyrfalcons - above 70 degrees north. We hope to tour the magnificent bird cliffs at Cape Hay by Zodiac. Later, we cruise the Navy Board Inlet south into beautiful Eclipse Sound.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov

Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

August 5-7: Northeast Coast of Baffin Island

As we sail into deeply incised inlets such as Gibbs or Sam Fjords, the mountains of northeastern Baffin Island rise several thousand feet above the sea. Watch for narwhals and beluga whales in these nutrient-rich waters - and caribou can often be seen roaming the endless tundra. Expect also to see fantastically sculpted icebergs drifting west from Greenland. We then head south past snowcapped mountains to the Arctic Circle. As always, the Captain and your Expedition Team will respond flexibly to weather and ice conditions when deciding the route and daily schedules that fit our goals.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov

Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

August 8-10: Pangnirtung, Hudson Strait & Frobisher Bay

We intend to sail across Cumberland Sound to Pangnirtung (pop. 1,200), located on a scenic fjord near Auyuittuq National Park. Home to many artists, the village is famed for its prints and beautifully woven tapestries. The landscapes here are breathtaking: towering cliffs, waterfalls, glaciers and distinctive flat-topped mountains overlooking flowering tundra. We continue along the coast into the Hudson Strait, with possible expedition stops on Edgell Island at the mouth of Frobisher Bay, as well as Diana Bay and Akpatok Island. In summer, the islands' cliffs are nesting habitats for Arctic Terns, Razorbills, Thick-billed Murres, kittiwakes, Black Guillemots and Atlantic Puffins - which in turn attracts polar bears to the area.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov

Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

August 11: Cape Dorset

By afternoon we hope to arrive at Cape Dorset, a remote 2,000-year-old community rediscovered by early 20th-century explorers. Once a trading center for furs and sealskins, since the late 1950s Cape Dorset has gained renown as the Inuit art capital of the world. At the local artists' co-op and in conversations with residents, you learn about the community's history and cultural traditions, and the values that have helped these proud people survive in a seemingly impossible environment.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov

Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

August 12: Foxe Basin

In this waterway between Baffin Island and the Melville Peninsula, plan time to watch the spectacle of the Kapitan Khlebnikov battling the Arctic ice pack. As we plow through huge ice floes, your Expedition Team will alert you to any marine mammals and seabirds drawn to these waters for a brief period - by rising temperatures, melting ice, perennial daylight and an explosion of food sources - before winter descends once again.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov

Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

August 13: Fury and Hecla Strait

Only a very few vessels have successfully navigated through the narrow waterway of Fury and Hecla Strait, named for the ships from William Parry's Baffin Island expedition of 1821-23. Taking advantage of helicopter reconnaissance, your Captain will be able to constantly monitor conditions ahead as he plans the ideal route through the ice. As ever, our rate of progress and range of daily activities will vary according to the vagaries of the Arctic environment.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov

Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

August 14-15: Somerset Island & Prince Leopold Island

Depending on our earlier progress, we hope to explore the tundra at Fort Ross, an abandoned Hudson's Bay Company depot on Somerset Island. We approach the Bellot Strait, a very narrow channel leading to Point Zenith, the northernmost point on the North American continent. Often choked with heavy pack ice, the waterway is a likely place to spot polar bears or narwhals. Other expedition stops may include flat-topped Prince Leopold Island, known for its nesting seabirds, and Cunningham Inlet, a reserve around a shallow bay where beluga whales congregate during summer.

Accommodations: Kapitan Khlebnikov

Included Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner

August 16-17: Resolute to Ottawa

We disembark the Kapitan Khlebnikov at Resolute Bay for our flight back to Ottawa and a final night at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, continuing home independently after breakfast on August 17.

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