For the Inuit, the north represents their chosen landscape for survival and is home to their rich artistic and cultural legacy, which is alive and responsive to the new challenges of the twenty-first century. Our Heart of the Arctic program celebrates this legacy, as we will continue an enriching program of exploration, cultural immersion, art and archaeology with a host of outstanding resource guides and exceptional guests. As a special treat, we have commissioned an exclusive, original print from Pangnirtung Artist Jolly Atagooyuk, which will be complimentary for each couple booked on this voyage.

Our journey begins as we sail up Kangerlussuaq Fiord, West Greenland's longest and most captivating. We will compare and contrast Greenlandic communities with the Canadian territories of Nunavut and Nunavik. Visiting hamlets, engaging in sports and cultural events we arrive at a deeper understanding of our neighbours to the north.

As well known Arctic archaeologist and author Bob McGhee has written, "our southern vision of the Arctic is so enticing that it cannot be entirely submerged in reality." The arts of the Inuit have informed southern audiences for the last 60 years with visual imagery that has fired our imaginations. Through sculpted forms, prints and drawings and magnificent weavings we only glimpse this spectacular landscape. We now have the privilege of experiencing first hand, their reality.

* Please note that this is an expeditionary itinerary. While we will make every attempt to keep to the published itinerary, weather, wildlife sightings and other factors may change the timings and or destinations listed below.

Arriving into Kangerlussuaq, it is possible to see the largest ice cap in the world from your airplane window. Boarding the Clipper Adventurer in the afternoon, we will make our journey down spectacular Sondre Stromfjord.

Itilleq’s claim to fame is it's the home of the largest sheep farm in all of south Greenland. Excellent pasture lands make it ideal for haymaking, keeping the sheep of Itilleq in fodder over the winter months. Also known as 'the place to cross over', Itilleq is a small town of 140 with colourful buildings that charm visitors as we engage the local soccer team in our semi-annual, and consistently unsuccessful match.

With a population of just over 4,000 people, Ilulissat is Greenland?s third largest town. The harbour is a picturesque mishmash of icebergs, fishing boats, hovering gulls and friendly faces. Once ashore we will learn about the inhabitants of Ilulissat and West Greenland at the museum and cultural centers. Art lovers can look for their very own Tupilak, a small carving, characteristic of the area, meant to ward off evil spirits. After our community experience we will walk to the ridge of the Ilulissat Icefjord, an awe inspiring setting where we can hear the fast moving glacial ice-stream and grumbling as the massive icesheets and bergs make their way out into the harbour set on a course for New York, and beyond.

While crossing Davis Strait, we'll relax and enjoy onboard lectures and opportunities to watch for wildlife from the ships decks.

'Pang' is situated at the foot of one of the most spectacular backdrops of the Canadian Arctic. Mount Duval, at 850m, casts brilliant shadows and clouds over the boats moored in the bay, creating an ideal photo-op for shutterbugs. We'll visit the print shop and tapestry studio at the Uqqurmiut Art Centre. Pangnirtung is a major Baffin arts community. In honour of the print shop?s 30th Anniversary, we have commissioned an exclusive print from Pangnirtung Artist Jolly Atagooyuk which will be complimentary for each couple booked on this voyage.

Here we will be on the lookout for a seasonal walrus haulout where large groups of them can sometimes be found, lounging on the rocks.

The population of Kimmirut is approximately 400. Once the administrative center of south Baffin, it is now one of the smallest communities in the region. An Anglican mission was established here in 1909, followed closely in 1911 by the first Hudson Bay Company trading post in the Baffin Region. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police established their first detachment in the Baffin region here in 1926. Elders here remember art legend, James A. Houston, newly married to his first wife, Alma, passing through by dogteam in the early days of 1951, en route to Kinngait (Cape Dorset). Today, the economy thrives on harvesting marine mammals, fish and land game. Many residents are renowned carvers whose art is sold and collected around the world.

Along the northwest shore of Dorset Island, surrounded on one side by rocky hills and on the Other by Hudson Strait, lies the community that art built. Between 1950 and 1962, Kinngait hosted a historic collaboration between local Inuit and James and Alma Houston ? the collaboration that launched Inuit art onto the world stage. In the distance are the jagged outlines of islands, and the inlets of Baffin Island's southern coast. Like most other settlements in Nunavut, Kinngait is a modern community, with winding gravel roads, small wooden houses, schools, stores, hotels, a nursing station, government offices and churches. But it is the outstanding artists, printmakers and carvers that have made Cape Dorset the Inuit art capital of the world.

Kangiqsujuaq, is snuggled in the hollow of a splendid valley surrounded by majestic 500m high rocky hills. In a rocky pinching of the bay, known as 'the narrows", we will have an opportunity to examine the base of what were, 1.80 billion years ago, Himalayan-scale mountains. Located in the region of Nunavik the population is almost 500. In 1884, members of the Canadian Hudson's Bay Expedition, aboard the steamship Neptune, arrived in the area anxious to establish a commercial route to Europe through the Hudson Strait. An ice observation and meteorological station were built at nearby Stupart Bay (known as Aniuvarjuaq). Inuit began to trade frequently with observers posted at the station: sealskin mitts and boots for tobacco and gunpowder. Wakeham Bay takes its name from Captain William Wakeham who, in 1897, led an expedition to determine whether the Hudson Strait was safe for navigation.

Located on the northern coast of Quebec, in the region of Nunavik, and opening out to the Hudson Strait and Labrador Sea, Ungava Bay can co-claim the highest tides in the world, tied with the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. Ungava Bay freezes during the winter but at summer breakup, ice floes with seals, polar bears and walrus can be found floating southward into the bay.

Kangirsuk, meaning 'the bay' in Inuktitut, is located on the north shore of the Payne River, inland from Ungava Bay. The village lies between a rocky cliff to the north and a large, rocky hill to the west. The numerous lakes and rivers of the area are well known for their arctic char and lake trout. The strong tides that occur on the Payne River make it an extraordinary place for mussel harvesting. The richness of wildlife and flora of the surroundings of Kangirsuk is also impressive. On the islands of Kyak Bay and Virgin Lake located to the east and northeast of Kangirsuk, respectively, important colonies of eider ducks nest every year. Inuit women collect the precious down of those birds to make the warm parkas that protect Kangirsumiut (residents of Kangirsuk) from the biting, winter cold.

Before it was named Kuujjuaq, early fur traders knew this region as Fort Chimo. A mispronunciation of saimuk, which means 'Let's shake hands', 'chimo' was often used to welcome early fur traders to the post. Today Kuujjuaq, the administrative capital of the Inuit territory of Nunavik, is a flourishing community combining traditional Inuit culture with the conveniences of modern day life. From here we will board the charter flight back to Ottawa.

• Your complete itinerary
• Team of resource specialists
• Welcome reception aboard ship
• Educational program and pre-departure materials
• All meals, except occasional optional meal ashore
• Zodiac excursions
• Service charges and port fees

• Flights (charter flights are available)
• Mandatory medical / evacuation insurance
• Personal expenses (laundry, alcoholic beverages, phone calls, onboard medical fees)
• Additional expenses in the event of delays or itinerary changes
• Optional hotel nights before or after your included itinerary
• Discretionary gratuities to ship’s crew (approximately $10 per
passenger per day)
• Visas, if required
• Fees for physician’s notes confirming you are fit to travel
• Contribution of $250 for local conservation/cultural initiatives
• Possible fuel surcharges