Northern Lights & Arctic Exploration

Our northern lights tour begins in Winnipeg. Once a fur-trading hub and later a Canadian Pacific Railway boomtown, today Manitoba's capital is a vibrant cultural and commercial center on the eastern edge of Canada’s vast prairies. On arrival, you are met and transferred to the distinguished Fort Garry Hotel, one of the city’s most prestigious landmarks. Built in 1913 by the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway in the style of a French chateau, it remains the grande dame of Winnipeg hospitality.

This afternoon, head to the "gear room" at our hotel to get equipped with all the cold-weather clothing you'll need for our Arctic adventure. We provide heavy parkas, insulated snow boots, snow pants, fleece jacket, mittens, fleece hat, fleece neck gaiter, and hand and toe warmers. No need to buy and haul your own! This evening, enjoy a welcome dinner with your Expedition Leader and fellow adventurers.

Board our chartered flight to Churchill this morning. On arrival, transfer to town, followed by a brief tour of this historic settlement that grew up around the site of a major Hudson's Bay Company fur-trading post established in the early 18th century. As night falls, we head out for our first quest in search of the northern lights. Also called the aurora borealis, meaning "north wind of the dawn," the display often begins as a pale glow low in the northern sky, which slowly begins to shift and undulate, frequently emerging as shimmering curtains of green. Sometimes pink, red or even violet colors appear. For centuries, the phenomenon of the northern lights was a mystery, inspiring a host of mythical explanations. While we know now that the aurora is caused by the interaction of the solar wind with Earth’s magnetic field, more poetic stories of their origin linger, including the Hudson Bay Inuit’s belief that the lights are the mystical display of their ancestors’ souls dancing in the sky.

On these dark, icy nights in the Canadian North, we travel outside town where views of the aurora are best, away from artificial light. Yet you won't stand in the cold waiting for the lights to show—we have a collection of six private vantage points where you can relax in warmth and comfort as we anticipate the aurora's appearance.

During your trip, you will visit a selection (though not all) of the following:

Nat Hab's new Boreal Lounge is a two-story structure with a transparent curved roof and multiple outdoor decks, offering vantage points from different levels. Our custom-designed Aurora Pod® features a 360° view on the night sky through a glass ceiling and half-walls. Our private Aurora Sphere is a geodesic dome tent with clear viewing panels and a propane stove to heat the interior, providing cozy lounge space throughout the evening. Aurora Domes with Plexiglass tops offer another angle on the heavens—climb the ladder to the upper level for a view in the round, or head outside for a totally clear vista of the sky, then come in and warm up on the ground level with comfortable sofas, snacks and hot drinks. At a local dog musher’s camp, retreat inside a traditional tepee illuminated by a lantern as we wait for the lights to appear, then step outside to photograph the aurora with the illuminated tepee creating an evocative foreground subject. Farther afield, view the lights above our isolated cabin deep in the boreal forest, which we reach via an overland snowcoach journey atop a frozen creek. Regardless of which locations you'll watch from, comfort and access are our top priorities as we position ourselves for prime observation of the dark winter skies.
 
While our nights are devoted to the aurora, daytime activities focus on distinctly northern adventures, local cultures, and the austere beauty of our subarctic environs. A highlight is a journey aboard our custom-built snowcoach deep into the North Woods. This vehicle, designed exclusively for our use, allows passage over wild, roadless terrain, offering a true wilderness experience outside Churchill. We'll also track hardy northern wildlife on a snowshoeing outing, looking for signs of Arctic hare, Arctic and red fox, ptarmigan and more. In the historic town of Churchill, meet local people and learn about the region's northern cultures. While the Hudson’s Bay Company established a fort near here in 1717 as part of its fur-trading network across the Canadian North, Indigenous cultures had already been flourishing in these daunting environs for thousands of years. Explore their heritage at the Itsanitaq Museum, on a dog sled ride through the boreal forest, and via cultural programs featuring the arts and traditions of the Inuit, Dene and Metis peoples.

The morning is free to wander Churchill’s main street, where several shops sell authentic local handicrafts, from traditional mukluks to sculptures made of caribou hair. We then transfer to the airport for our chartered flight back to Winnipeg. Gather for a farewell dinner this evening to celebrate our aurora adventures.

After breakfast,  transfer to the airport for flights home.