Towards The Adventure - To Bylot Island!

Bylot island has a very picturesque landscape: bold, rugged coasts, glaciers and a high, mountainous interior that has not been conducive to habitation. Steep, rugged coastline offer prime habitat for seabirds and attract rare species of birds like white Owl or so, being the bird sanctuary, which includes all islands and marine waters within 3.2 km of Bylot Island.

Bylot Island - The entire island is a large bird sanctuary, which in summer is flooded with snow geese, murres and kittiwakes. Bylot Island 
is rather small in size- it occupies the territory of 11 067 km2, being the 71st in the list of islands. But in spite of this size, Bylot island is a very beautiful place, nestled into the northeastern corner of  Baffin island at the entrance to Lancaster sound.   The southern aspect of Bylot island looks across Pond Inlet and Eclipse Sound.

The area has very picturesque landscape - bold, rugged coasts, glaciers and a high, mountainous interior that have not been conducive to
habitation. Its steep, rugged coastline (particularly capes Hay and Graham Moore) offer prime habitat for seabirds. Its importance for seabirds was recognized in 1965 when the Bylot Island and surrounding waters were designated as a migratory  bird sanctuary.  That is why Bylot island still remains  a spectacular area of rugged mountains, icefields and glaciers, coastal lowlands and seabird colonies. The concentration of marine mammals and birds in the area is remarkable and attracts scientists, ornithologists and tourists.  The sanctuary includes all islands and marine waters within 3.2 km of Bylot Island. In 1999 Bylot Island became part of Sirmilik national park.

The territory of the island was some time a  trading station of Inuit, who visited it  seasonally but today there are no settlement there. No wonder - the average temperature in the middle of the sunny day straddle between  0 and -12 Celsius. Ice caps, soaring peaks, glaciers, flower-studded tundra, and even sandy beaches - Bylot  Island encapsulates every terrain found in the High Arctic on one island. Seven hundred km (440 miles) north of the Arctic Circle, and 600 km (375 miles) west of Greenland, the island is completely free of human habitation. Originally set aside in the 1950s to protect nesting birds, it hosts 30 species, including the world's largest colony of greater snow geese.

The eastern part of Bylot island was much frequented by European whalers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The island was thoroughly explored and described by  Robert  Bylot and  officially claimed as part of Canada by Captain Joseph Elzear BERNIER in 1906.

Bylot island contains every kind of terrain imaginable, the ideal location for your backpacking adventure.  Everything  from golden sandy beaches to nearby glaciers, ice caps and high mountains, Bylot Island truly has it all.   In fact, Bylot island offers some of the best hiking and trekking in the Arctic.  While a half -day trip, you will explore valleys, glaciers, tundra and shoreline. There are usual tours for experienced hikers and photographers organized, so if you do not afraid of frosts and adventures, you are surely visit Bylot island - that is majestic treasure of the Nature. It is one of the more popular such destinations in Canada, along with other places such as Auyuittuq National Park also located in the Baffin Islands of Nunavut.

Parts of the route can involve crossing a glacier for which the group will be roped together. It is a thriving and unforgettable experience, much better than simple lying in the sun, isn`t it?  Most of the hiking can be planned over grassy, mossy tundra and extreme can be brought by  involving several streams and small river crossings. Group size is usually kept small to ensure the least impact on the fragile environment and the time  can be spent photographing some of the unique and fascinating features the island has to offer. Isn`t it alluding?

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