Today we have to talk about one of the most beautiful regions in the world: Alaska. Many of us only know this land from films or documentaries and without a doubt after seeing those images we are not left thinking about its wild nature, almost in its purest form.
The story goes that the Americans bought the territory of Alaska from the Russians, so on the map Canada is somewhat squeezed between the United States and that distant and fairly new state of the Confederate states that make up this northern country. Precisely today we will talk about far north of Alaska, the least visited but most beautiful destination of all if you want to experience the planet as it once was.
Alaska
Alaska is a state that locals also know by the name of Great land. The fastest way to get there is by plane as the major cities, Anchorage, Juneau and Fairbanks, have major airports. From there, smaller companies are in charge of providing air service to the most remote communities, villages and areas of the state, for example the north.
Moving within the territory involves flying, taking trains, driving or sailing. We would even say that the best of all is to combine all these means of transport because that is how the true Alaska is experienced. You sail the sea along the coast, fly over mountains or contemplate an unspoiled tundra through the train window.
There are many private boat lines that offer transportation and tours but locals often use the Alaska Marine Highway System or AMHS, a ferry network It covers 25 ports in the state and transports people, motorcycles, cars and bikes and has a multitude of routes. It is a public company that connects Inside Passage, Prince William Sound, the Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak Island and the Aleutian Islands.
Ferries have cabins, you can travel at night and sleep on the public decks in your own tent. Of course, if you go in summer you should book because there is a lot of internal tourism. On the other hand, if the sea or the air is not your thing and you love to drive then you can travel the routes and you will have incredible landscapes assured.
By train you can take advantage of the two rail routes there: the Alaska Railrod and the White Pass & Yukon Route. The latter goes from Skagway to Fraser and is more than a century old since it was born in times of the Gold Rush. The other is modern and goes from Seward to Fairbanks stopping in Anchorage, Wasilla, Talkeetna and Denali National Park. A detail: You cannot get to Alaska by train from Canada or the rest of the United States.
Far North Alaska, the far north of Alaska
When you take the map and see the state, you see that the bulk of the populations are agglutinating closer to the border with Canada and on the Pacific coast. Beyond is the north o Far North as they say here. It is not easy to get there, but if you dare, destiny rewards you with the best landscapes of lakes, mountains, tundra and arctic waters you can imagine.
The far north of Alaska has also native culture and it is the same two main cities, Barrow and Nome, you come into contact with them. North is the place where the sun never quite sets during the summer months and where it doesn't seem to come out completely in the winter either. It is a place of wild animals that is rare to see elsewhere and the best place to see caribou and polar bears.
Arrived by plane from Fairbanks, it is the most usual route, but you can also get flights from Anchorage. The planes arrive at the settlements I mentioned earlier so we can start talking about them. What's with Barrow? It is a native eskimo village very, very small, located above the Arctic Circle, 531 kilometers, and is the northernmost settlement in the United States. Do you like Eskimos? It is the site.
In Barrow you can start the tour by visiting the Inupiat Heritage Center whose entrance costs 10 dollars and teaches you a bit about culture and its artistic expressions. It opens from 8:30 am to 5 pm and closes for lunch. Knowing something more about the place you can then undertake the Barrow Walking Tour which is a road with 28 stops that is made by bus.
Barrow has a whaling tradition and the tourist route has archaeological and traditional sites, monuments, old houses, beautiful lakes, a farm, an old cemetery and a whaling station cuisine. It is best to go in summer, between May 10 and August 2, which is when the famous Midnight Sun.
Name It is a settlement that it rests at the tip of the Seward Peninsula on the Bering Sea. It is the best destination for the adventurous traveler and lover of Nature and it seems that It's as far as you can go in Alaska without completely losing the comforts of the modern world.. It is a small city surrounded by fabulous landscapes, with native culture and very friendly people.
Name grew from the hand of gold at the beginning of the XNUMXth century but today travelers are attracted by tourist wonders and no longer by gold. Arrived on a 90-minute flight from Anchorage (one airline travels straight and the other makes at least one stop on the route), and once there if you want to see more you have to rent a car and leave by one of the routes that are triggered from Nome.
It is a land with almost no trees so the gaze is lost on the horizon, in rivers of icy and crystalline waters, in surprising white sand beaches and a tundra that rises and falls gently. A marvel. It did not know how to be a bigger city, in those times of the gold, so when you move away from the city you see the remains of the mining work everywhere. Take the shovel and the pick because here you can keep what you find so maybe the gold has not finished here yet ...
There are especially two tourist events: a massive bird migration that takes place in late spring and a dog sled race in March. The recommended time to get to know Nome is three days and so one can go back and forth through its route system with a rented car. In spring the weather is better and then you can do at least three routes, one per day.
I think that with the images that accompany the article there is no doubt that the far north of Alaska is a precious land in that sense of the word, it is worth every meter with its explosive and unforgettable beauty.