The northern Yukon is a popular destination. Visitors particularly like to travel to the Vuntut National Park located there. This canadian Protected area covers an area of 4,345 square kilometers. The Vuntut National Park was established in 1995. The foundation was preceded by tough negotiations between the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation and the government of Canada. It was about the clarification of the ownership claims to the area.
The entire area is accessible from a few paved roads in the area. It was left natural and borders the Ivvavik National Park. The nearest major city is Old Crow.
Naming of the Vuntut National Park
The name of the Vuntut National Park comes from the Gwitchin language. The word Vuntut here means “between the lakes”.
Landscape and life in the park
How enormous bodies of water are particularly impressive and are also interesting for researchers. The adjacent swampy landscape offers a habitat for various animals and plants. The Ramsar Convention declared the waterways in the Vuntut National Park to be an internationally important water habitat.
The large mammals that have found their home here include grizzly bears and caribou.
History of the Vuntut National Park
Alexander Mackenzie was on an expedition when he came across an abandoned fishing camp in 1789. The primitive peoples on the Mackenzie River had built it there and later abandoned it. Just a year later, the first trading posts in the area of today’s Vuntut National Park for the fur and fur trade were opened built. After lengthy negotiations, the park is now managed jointly by the Vunvut-Gwitchin People and the Canadian government in a kind of cooperation.
During scientific excavations, clothing, tools and spiritual objects of the Vunut Gwitchen were found throughout the area. This culture is very complex and has a long history. The starting point and, so to speak, the basis of the settlement of the North American areas came from the migrations of the Vunut Gwitchen. These indigenous people are without a doubt one of the most remarkable of our human development and history.
Leisure activities in the Vuntut National Park
Since the park is very rich in animals, observation is possible of the various types very popular with visitors. But hikes are also possible. The barely developed area is a real wilderness that calls for real adventure explorations. Nevertheless, it is important that visitors adhere to the park’s rules of conduct, because protection and preservation are particularly important here.
Of course, you can also take part in snow expeditions here.
There is also the Yukon Quest in the vicinity of the park. This is a superlative dog sled race! Here the extremes are in the foreground, but due to its rapid speed and everything around it, it offers impressive pleasure for the audience.
On guided hikes, guides explain the history, the most important places and the breathtaking wilderness to the guests of the park. This is how you experience nature up close.
The park can only be reached by charter plane and canoe. The Old Crow settlement is the starting point here. When approaching you can already overlook the landscape with thousands of lakes and ponds, which is a really impressive sight. Half a million water birds can be found there in autumn. This spectacle should not be missed either.
You can also see some well-preserved fossil sites here in the park, which are estimated to be 40,000 years old.
