Sailing to the Haida Gwaii Reserve aboard Qilak
Experience a 10-day cruise to Queen Charlotte Archipelago, the ancestral home of the Haida people
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The cruise at a glance
- Overview :
- 10 days onboard
- 2 departure dates
- 0 $ per person
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This Canadian archipelago located off the coast of British Columbia is a national park with the status of Indian Reserve. These islands are the birthplace of the 8,000-year-old Haida Indian nation, which has developed a unique culture as evidenced by its remarkable woodworking and the largest collection of totem poles in North America in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Their totem poles are true works of art and there are still many remaining. It is also a bird watcher’s paradise: golden eagle, heron, harlequin, kingfisher, puffin, sandhill crane …In the wake of large marine mammals such as humpback whales and orcas, return to the mainland after crossing Hecate Strait, using the natural canals that run along the grizzly home of the Great Bear Rainforest.
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When to join us?
10-day cruise in Alaska: 2,930 Euros
Prices :
0 $USD / per person
Based on today exchange rate 1EUR = 0 USD
English is spoken aboard.
May 2023
From 05-16-2023 To 05-25-2023 Boarding : Prince Rupert Landing : Port Hardy Code : H1September 2023
From 09-13-2023 To 09-22-2023 Boarding : Prince Rupert Landing : Port Hardy Code : H11Why join us ?
- Immersion in an ancient Indian culture
- A moment of relaxation in the relaxing hot spring baths
- Paradise for bird watchers in tropical vegetation
- Temperature of 15 to 30 ° in summer, thanks to the Kuro-Shivo, a warm sea current
- Small-group sailing: 6 passengers maximum, top quality cooking and fishing on board
- A very educational skipper-adventurer, ready to introduce you to navigation, beginners welcome!
The indicated price includes: the annual membership to the association QILAK EXPEDITIONS, the navigation port/port in full board, the drinks (water, coffee, tea, and wine at the dinner), the supervision by a bilingual captain on all the route and the services of the crew, the visits of the sites and parks indicated in the program.
The indicated price does not include: airfare and hotels, transport from the airport to the sailboat, alcohol (other than wine at dinners), restaurants (including the last meal on Day 10) and bars.
Boarding takes place in the morning on Day 1 (D1) and we set sail shortly after. Disembarkation takes place around 6 p.m. on D10.
Note: Extend your stay! This expedition aboard the Qilak sailboat is part of an itinerant journey along the Pacific coast, from Vancouver Island (Canada) to Kodiak Island (Alaska). You therefore have the possibility of extending your trip by registering for several expeditions!
Our itinerary
Day 1 : Boarding in Prince Rupert
Embark on Qilak from Cow Bay Marina in Prince Rupert and sail to Griffit Harbor (Banks Island).
Day 2: Tanu Island
Crossing the Hecate Strait to reach Haida Gwaii at Tanu Island: a village of the Haïda nation with strong spiritual resonance, silent in the abundance of a carpet of moss.
Day 3: Hotspring Island
Stopover at Tanu Island: In the evening we will reach Gandll K’inn hot springs, for a relaxing bath in one of the three natural pools with a beautiful background.
Day 4: Rose Harbor (Kunghit Island)
Sailing to Rose Harbor, a former whaling station from 1910 to 1943. Rose Harbor takes its name from the blood-colored waters that once filled the bay. A variety of whales, including blue, humpback whales and many more, were turned into oil. It is now a peaceful place with some rusty remnants of old settlements, in a tropical forest that provides a blanket of soft and thick moss. Three families make their living there from ecotourism, not without some legal friction with the park administration and the Canadian government.
Day 5: Indian memory of Sgang Gwaay
Sail to Anthony Island, visit the prestigious remains of the Haïda village of Sgang Gwaay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site: a cave serving as a burial site as well as the largest known concentration of totem poles, guarding the spirits, will leave their mark in your memories. Return and anchor at Rose Harbor.
Day 6: Hecate Strait
Crossing the Hecate Strait to reach Gilen Harbor.
Day 7: Great Bear Rainforest and Bishop Bay Hot Springs
Great Bear Rainforest is a vast land stretching some 400 kilometers along the coast of British Columbia, a paradise for black bears and grizzly bears that merges with that of the Inside Passage. Anchorage and relaxing bath at the hot springs of Bishop Bay.
Days 8 to 10: The Inside Passage and disembarking in Port Hardy
We get into the Inside Passage. Watch your cameras: we will no doubt have the chance to meet the herd of killer whales that frequent these waters all year round, as well as numerous humpback whales, until we reach our port of disembarkation.
Note: The itinerary is reversed for the departure on May 16 (code H1), ie: boarding in Port Hardy / disembarking in Prince Rupert.
Our latest reviews
Laetitia S., Haida Gwaii cruise from September 2 to 11, 2019
We take the sea in the company of Didier and Dorian, we taste life on board a sailboat in the company of a small group, we savor the sweetness of the days composed of reading, moments shared around meals, hiking ashore, fishing during anchorages, learning the basics of sailing, the history of the Amerindian Haida people. What an incredible feeling to arrive on an uninhabited island and find hot, natural springs there. We bathe there, facing the Pacific, in boiling waters that invite you to bask ... In this original setting, we come back to simple things, to primary needs, we want to leave behind only the imprint of our footsteps so as not to disturb anything and we come back with the same deep desires: to commit ever more to preserve our incredible planet from which the environment is suffering cruelly. Responsible travel takes on its full meaning here: to be amazed, to open up to something else, and to come back changed for a better world.