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The Inside Passage
Southeast Alaska is the ideal location for visitors to see the best scenery that the region has to offer. Carved into a 'panhandle' by ancient glaciers, the area takes it name from the classic Alaskan scenery, which is shaped by being carved into huge glaciers millions of years ago. Thousands of islands form a pristine protected waterway called the Inside Passage that is lined with many charming towns and small villages rich in history.
Native inhabitants and cultures include the Haida, Tlingit and Tshimshian Indians and the area preserves the traditional dances and music, especially the Ketchikan. Russian settlers have also left their legacy of icons and onion-domed churches, having been drawn to the region in search of fur; the region's promise of gold, salmon fishing and forests of timber attracted many profiteers. Today the business of tourism is an additional income-earner for many of the picturesque coastal communities.
The town of Skagway at the northern tip of the Inside Passage has witnessed a lively and lawless history of the Gold Rush days, where the town was originally a trading post for the Klondike Gold Rush pioneers. Juneau is Alaska's attractive capital, with a bustling waterfront and a scenic mountain backdrop, and is the gateway to one of the country's more stunning regions, Glacier Bay
National Park.
The Alaska Marine Highway is the best form of travel in the region, with no roads connecting the towns and a regular ferry circulating the area by water. The Alaska Marine Highway is a designated National Scenic Byway and is one of the most beautiful ways to explore Alaska. The deep waters and mild climate provide a prime habitat for whales, sea lions and porpoises, which can often be spotted from the deck. Between the picturesque fishing town of Petersburg and Russian-founded Wrangell is the spectacular Wrangell Narrows that is only 300ft (91m) wide and so shallow in places that the boat is forced into a slalom course of 46 turns to avoid grounding on the channel bottom. Frederick Sound is a prime whale sighting area.
Glacier Bay National Park
The pioneers and early explorers of this region first sailed here in the eighteenth century, when a massive sheet of ice that was more than four thousand feet thick and over twenty miles wide cloaked Glacier Bay. Today the branching 65-mile (105km) long fjord is the work of the fastest-receding glacier on earth, the melting ice of the Grand Pacific Glacier opening up a spectacular carved terrain of steep rock walls lining deepwater fjords. Sliding out of the mountains are 16 active glaciers that fill the sea with different shaped icebergs, creating the icy blue landscape that is world-renowned. At the head of the fjord is the massive ice wall of the Grand Pacific Glacier, slowly melting and sculpting the still-unfinished land as it backs away from the sea, a natural work of art in progress. An added attraction is the variety of aquatic life including humpback whales, sea otters, seals and porpoises, while bears, moose, mountain goats and many species of birds inhabit the land. This rugged landscape can only be accessed by boat or small plane as most of the park is made up of water. Because opportunities to see this huge wilderness are limited, facilities can be crowded, especially on the tour boats; activities are also expensive, and wildlife sightings cannot be guaranteed. Gustavus is the small settlement that services the park, but the park headquarters is at Bartlett Cove from where boats can be arranged or alternate means provided to enjoy the park experience. Kayaking or camping in the backcountry, ranger-led programs or walks, hiking and fishing are all available.
Skagway
A trading post serving the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897, Skagway is now the main port for cruise ships and is at the most northern point of the Inside Passage. Back in 1897 in a space of three months a tent and shack town of 20,000 people had sprung up and throngs of hopeful gold-seekers stampeded the town, the jumping off point for the 500-mile (805km) trek to the goldfields in the Yukon. The town's rapid growth brought in its wake disease and violence, and it was notorious for lawless characters as well as its many bars and prostitutes; a place reported to be 'hell on earth'. After gathering supplies prospectors faced severe hardships on the Chilkoot Trail and the White Pass Trail, two routes over the mountains to Canadian territory. The latter, known as the 'Dead Horse Trail' became littered with the bodies of exhausted and beaten packhorses. Today much of the town lies within the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park, which includes the excellent Visitor Information Centre offering fascinating exhibits and a film on the Gold Rush days. The heart of Skagway is the historic district and the wooden boardwalks lining the restored buildings, false-fronted shops and saloons, and the original appearance of many of the houses, enhances the character of a town rich in Gold Rush history. It is also possible to follow in the footsteps of the Klondike gold seekers along the famous 33-mile (53km) Chilkoot Trail, literally an outdoor museum strewn with reminders of the past, where abandoned pick axes, shovels and old supplies can be found along the way.
