Western Canada Diaries - 8. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake

[ Continued from Part 7 - Bow Falls and Vermilion Lakes  ]

About half an hour's (at most) drive north of Banff on the Trans-Canada Highway 1 lies a little spot of heaven.

Rockies along the highway

It started to rain heavily as we left Banff and headed for Lake Louise. Now I may have reused that "slice of heaven" phrase often, but as anyone who has visited Lake Louise knows, it's appropriate over and over again to describe this place.

When you park your car, you have to walk for about 5-10 minutes until you are at the lake. All along, you are wondering just how beautiful it could be and will it match the hype. After all, everyone has praised this place, and you have seen the pictures. But how will it be in real life.

Suddenly, you are there. And it hits you.

WOW.

It was over cast but not raining when we arrived at Lake Louise, yet we were mesmerized by the beauty of the serene lake. Not a single mechanical sound could be heard. It was just throngs of people, and nature.

Slowly the clouds started to part as the junction of mountains, glaciers and glacier lakes became more pronounced. I have said it once but it bears repeating - you can NOT take photographs that do justice to the natural beauty of the place. It has to be seen to be believed that such a place exists.

Lake Louise is often termed as the most photographed place in Canada. And it's not hard to see why.

There is a perfect spot on the pier where you stand, and you can see directly opposite you - it's where two mountains meet. Behind it, there's another two mountains meeting. And so on ... the illusion is of several mountains meeting in layers. All of it in front of a glacier in the background. The clouds curve above along the mountains and reflect the colours of the sky and the aqua blue colours of the lake. And then a crimson red canoe slowly drifts in front of you, complimenting the natural colours.

 

Sometimes, if you are very lucky, there may not be a wind across the lake, and the waters will be very still. This is when you can take a perfect picture. The mountains, the glacier, the clouds, all reflected on the crystal water surface of the lake.

 

Panaromic shot of Lake Louise by my brother.

 

 Like some of the lakes here at Banff National Park, there was a canoeing facility at Lake Louise.

 



Now this is one lake I would recommend you spend your money and go for the little exercise.

It's actually worth the money, and I would recommend it over the Lake Minnewanka cruise if you have done that before.

Nothing can prepare you for the feeling of unpolluted, clean, natural breeze in your hair, the sounds of the sparkling water as you peddle across the lake, and the awesome majesty of the tree line (that looks so small but is huge as you near it) and of course, the glorious Rockies.

 

It is worth noting that 2017 marks the 150th anniversary of Canadian Confederation and admission is free to all national parks across Canada, including Banff National Park.

 

There is a Fairmont hotel across from Lake Louise (and very pricey too, during the summer season!). You can explore the hotel grounds and take pictures of the lake from various view points.

 

A view of the waters from the boardwalk across the hotel

We eventually left Lake Louise (rather reluctantly, no one wanted to leave!). A short drive from Lake Louise (about ten to fifteen minutes) is another little lake called Moraine Lake.

Some say Moraine Lake is equally beautiful (and if you see the post cards, some of the pictures are amazing). Unfortunately there was some type of construction when we were there, and besides the kids were getting a little antsy after a busy day, so we couldn't climb this little hillock nearby from which the views are said to be spectacular.

Insha Allah, something to do for next time.

Over all, Lake Louise and Moraine Lake are said to be easily the two most beautiful sights of nature in the world. And I feel blessed seeing both of them. If you are visiting Banff National Park, you can NOT miss either of them.
 

Western Canada Diaries - 7. Bow Falls and Vermilion Lakes

[ Continued from Part 6 - Lake Minnewanka Cruise  ]

One of the convenient factors about exploring Banff National Park is that most of the popular tourist attractions are located along Trans-Canada Highway 1.

The trip to Banff Gondola and the Lake Minnewanka Cruise can take up to a whole day. We therefore rested for the evening (and this is why you must book hotels in Banff ahead of time - they can get very expensive during the peak season). The plan for the following day was to complete as many attractions as possible before heading to the Columbia Ice fields.

The next morning the weather took a turn for the worse, and unluckily on and off rain was forecast throughout the day. Still, we were there for a holiday, so we had to make the best out of it. The good thing about a mountain destination is that the weather can change quickly, and often. So we took advantage of periods of sunshine to take some nice pictures and travel on the road when it was raining. Somehow, it mostly worked out!

If you look at the map above, you will see Bow River winding and twisting its way through the park. Close to the Banff Gondola was a place where the river went through a small water fall. This is known as Bow Falls.

The river continues onto Bow Lake.

The lakes of Banff National Park remain some of its biggest attractions. The beautiful clean water complimented by a majestic mountain background makes for nice breathtaking views. Pictures never do justice to the amazing beauty that is nature at its most pristine.

You can canoe (or raft) through the Bow River (this is downstream of the waterfall, so you don't go over the falls). Like almost all lakes in the park, motor (or power) boating is banned, so there is no fuel pollution. All boating is manual.

Along the Bow Falls, there is a pathway (note: it's not accessible for strollers as there are stairs) that you can take for a hike. It's an easy hike and we did it even with kids in tow. It leads to more scenic viewpoints, and you can see the grand Fairmont hotel (it looks like a castle).

The viewpoint is actually called Surprise Corner, as from here you can see the Bow River, the Bow Falls as well as the Fairmont hotel (called the Banff Springs Hotel).

This is also the lookout point if you want to do a panoramic shot of both Bow Lake and the Bow Falls.

Around 5 minutes north of the town of Banff (and Bow Lake) is Vermilion Lakes drive, which is a small road off the highway that goes past the Vermilion Lakes. As we were enjoying the view (and just before taking the pictures!) it started to rain. Hurried we scrambled to the car, so most of the pictures we have of this wonderful sight is dotted with rain.

I am also including a picture from the park's official website describing the Vermilion Lakes.

This shows Mount Rundle in the sunrise.

Overall Bow Falls, Bow Lake and Vermilion Lakes should take around a couple of hours. You can of course spend as much (or less) time as you need. Choose a clear day (if feasible) and go as early in the day as you can for the best photographs. An attraction in Banff not to be missed.
 

Western Canada Diaries - 6. Lake Minnewanka Cruise

[ Continued from Part 5 - Banff Sulphur Mountain Gondola  ]

Lake Minnewanka Boat Cruise is one of the four attractions on the Ultimate Explorer Combo.

It's a very short drive from the Banff Gondola, and you can do both in a single day if the weather is nice. Keep in mind that mountain weather changes often. If you don't like it, wait ten minutes.

The cruises are on medium sized boats (usually there's just one level). They really discourage power boats on these lakes (pollution can spoil their pristine beauty) so this is one of the only lakes where they allow cruises (there's another one up north in Jasper but it was closed this year).

There's a guide on each boat. We got one really humorous one who kept on piling facts at us with lots of fun during the cruise, pointing out what we were seeing and sprinkling interesting trivia about the local geography.

For example, this slight gap between the two mountain ranges is called The Devil's Gap. I wish there was no wind when we made our cruise so the water could be really still, but it wasn't so. In fact it was slightly breezy and we had to wear our light jackets (in the summer!).

What was interesting was that one side of the lake the mountains had one look, and the other side had a completely different look. This was due to different trees on either side, as well as effects of past forest fires.

A little bit more about the interestingly named Devil's Gap. This is the end of the Rockies. Beyond that the plains start and soon you will be in Saskatchewan.

So. Many. Trees. We actually learnt that sometimes firemen would set fire deliberately to a section of the trees to clear a route so that future forest fires could be controlled. Note: This plan did not ALWAYS work.

Overall it was a good cruise. However, if you have done it before, you don't really need to do it again. It's not a MUST do - I would rather spend the money and go canoeing on Lake Louise. However, if you are here once, go ahead and do it ... because that's what everyone does.

Western Canada Diaries - 5. Banff Sulphur Mountain Gondola

[ Continued from Part 4 - Calgary Olympic Plaza  ]

Banff.

Beautiful Banff.

 

I am so jealous of the people in Calgary. They just live an hour and half from this little spot of heaven that is the Banff National Park. The roads in Alberta are wide, and since we went in the middle of the week there was no jam. It was a lovely drive and soon the scenario changed to a mountainous one.

 

There are many things to do in Banff, so this post will focus on the Sulphur Mountain Gondola. It's one of the first things you do when you go to Banff. You can book your timeslot online as well for even greater convenience.

 

 

The best experience is to take the Ultimate Explorer Combo, which is what we did. You can spread out your visit on the sites across several days.

 

The gondola soon takes you high above the mountains. It's not exactly like the Switzerland gondolas where you go high above the clouds, but pretty close. And of course, the scenery is AMAZING.

 

Soon you are way to the top of Sulphur Mountain. And it's not just one peak.

 

They have built a whole walkway between two or three mountains so you can take a lot of time to explore and take pictures, which is what everyone does.

 

You can budget easily 3-4 hours for this. Keep in mind that some of the paths had stairs, so it's not completely accessible.

 

Overall on a beautiful day there is hardly a better and more scenic place to be in Canada than Banff, and the Banff Gondola will give you the best views of it.