Arctic Travel Forum

My ultimate travelling dream in life is the tiny settlement of Alert, on the northern tip of Canada's northernmost arctic island (Ellesmere).

Alert is a military/scientific base but is permanently populated. It is the northernmost settlement in the world (if you consider it a true settlement), when standing on the beach just north of the town you are at the northernmost beach in the world and see nothing but a frozen sea and the northpole in front of you.

I was wondering if there are possibilities to enter Alert as a tourist. By that I mean, if the access is very restricted or if they do allow a limited amount of tourists. Most resources on Canada's extreme north go no further than Grise Fiord (southern tip of the same island) and do not mention Alert, the few sources that do did not clearly mention if there is any sort of access for those not working in the base.

Also I wonder what sort of jobs there are in the Alert base, and who qualifies for the jobs.

that's BOMB i would love to do that too.

unfortunately, i have no idea the answer to your question but im going to start looking into that.



i think there's a small military landing, and... and that's it. but that'd be so cool. the top of the world. tell me if you find anything. i'll let you know too.

-fede

I think the reason there is not a mention of access is because no regular airlines make scheduled trips to Alert. If I am not mistaken, the only flights in are military planes or probably special flights chartered by the research scientists. I would think that a civilian tourist being allowed to hop on a military flight would not be very likely. So that would mean trying to get a lift on a scientific charter which might also be pretty difficult. However, the likely airline doing such possible charters is probably Ken Borek Air out of Cambridge Bay. You can check on this by calling them at 867-983-2415.

By the way, I think a trip to Grise would be much more interesting and I understand the setting is absolutely gorgeous. As for standing on the beach just outside of Alert, I should point out that in the winter, in most places in Nunavut, you can not tell any beach or area of land from the frozen sea as it is all just white and snow covered.

Good luck with your quest!