Why should you choose Banff?
Banff is located in the middle of ancient Canadian Rokies (province of Alberta, Canada). The name is derived from Banffshire area of Scotland, birthplace of two major financiers of The Canadian Pacific Railway. Built east to west, the steel rails of the Canadian Pacific Railway linked Banff with Calgary, and the rest of Canada, in 1883. Tourists, explorers and opportunists flocked to the area to see its beauty and perhaps claim a piece of it. Starting from 1885 the Government of Canada acted to protect the unique wilderness by creating the first Canadian National Park, now UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Banff is known as an ideal destination for adventure, unparalleled scenery, a lot of hot springs, a special charm of the town and skiing on the famous “champagne powder” as it is called the light, fluffy snow that falls here and a lot more:
- The Cave and Basin National Historic Site that were found when the two Canadian Pacific Railways workers start looking for gold and instead they found hot springs
- The mountains and astounding scenery like Mount Rundle with its 7 peaks
- The lakes and rivers: Bow River, Herbert Lake, Hector Lake, Peyto Lake, Moraine Lake, Lake Minnewanka. The bright blue colour of many of the lakes and rivers comes from a high concentration of glacial flour, which is formed as glaciers grind their way across the mountain sides. Peyto Lake comes with a history behind, being named after Wild Bill Peyto, a trapper and one of Banff’s first park wardens, a skilled trail guide with his signature dress of a sombrero and a buckskin coat. His image greets tourists and visitors on a sign outside the Banff town site
- The wildlife: elks or wapiti, mule deers, bighorn sheep, cougars, lynx, coyotes, grizzly bears, and o lot of birds species (around 260)
- Summer activities: hiking, biking, horseback rides, canoe trip, scenic boat tour, rafting ride, fishing, golf playing, picnicking, enjoying summer festivals, a visit to Athabasca Glacier, the highlight of the Icefields Parkway
- Winter activities: ice walking tours on Grotto Canyon, including watching the 1000 years old pictographs, skiing in one of the 3 resorts spread over 3059 hectares od ideal terrain, skating, icewalk
- Best gifts and souvenirs: ammolite and qiviuk clothes. Ammolite, a rare gemstone related with pearls and amber became in 2004 the official gemstone of Alberta. Is formed from the ancient fossilized shells of ammonites. The qiviuk fibre is obtained from muskox, an animal that lives in the far northern regions of Canada
- Art Galleries of the Canadian Rockies since Banff has become an art collector’s destination: Editions Gallery, Summit Gallery of Fine Art, Mountain Gallery, The quest Gallery, Skew Gallery
- A trip to Canmore and Kananaskis
- The famous Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel which was originally a four storey wooden building designed by the most famous 19th century architect Bruce Price, but after more than 100 years renovations and expansions become what is nowadays: an impressive beautiful building
Sneak peek:
