Alberta is a province in Western Canada. Its landscape encompasses mountains, prairies, desert badlands and vast coniferous forests. It has more than 600 lakes, and rich mineral deposits. In the west, the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks have glaciers in the Columbia Icefields. The Waterton Glacier International Peace Park is a biosphere reserve that straddles the southern border with the USA. Although Edmonton is the capital city, Calgary is the largest city.
Popular Things To Do:
Winter brings activities such as dog sledding, ice walks, showshoeing, skiing, ice skating & romantic horse drawn sleigh rides.
Summer brings activities such as fishing, hiking, wildlife viewing, camping & white water rafting.
The northern lights are one of the most surreal natural phenomena on Earth. The aurora borealis can be glimpsed in the winter months. From the world’s two largest dark sky preserves, Jasper National Park and Wood Buffalo National Park, you can see countless constellations, the planets, and the backbone of the Milky Way, all visible with the naked eye. Use telescopes to see fine details like the rings of Saturn and faraway galaxies.
Visit 1 or all of the 5 national parks, 4 of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites :
Banff National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park
Jasper National Park
Elk Island National Park (brimming with wildlife)
Wood Buffalo National Park (largest Dark Sky Preserve in the world)
Drive along the Icefields Parkway, one of the most scenic highways in the world.
Featured Destinations:
Badlands – Back in the Cretaceous period (145 to 65.5 million years ago), this land belonged to the dinosaurs. The Canadian Badlands were part of a lush subtropical habitat with a vast inland sea. Today, you can stand amidst the twisted rock formations, coulees and striped canyons of this ancient seabed, which holds the world’s richest deposits of dinosaur fossils.
Banff – A cultural oasis with unique shops and boutiques, museums that capture the region’s early history, beautiful art galleries, a vibrant night scene, and a host of summer and winter festivals.
Calgary – Set dramatically between prairies and peaks, Calgary is an exciting urban landscape surrounded by incomparable natural grandeur.It’s a place where you can explore the nearby Rocky Mountains or Canadian Badlands by day and enjoy world class cuisine and entertainment by night; a place buzzing with entrepreneurial energy while embracing its rich western heritage.
Edmonton – Alberta’s capital city straddles the boundary between prairie lands and boreal forest, bisected by the gorgeous North Saskatchewan River. Widely known as the Festival City, Edmonton hosts over 30 arts and cultural festivals every year. West Edmonton Mall is the largest shopping & entertainment complex in North America.
