Herschel Island

Qikiqtaruk, Herschel Island, lies in the Beaufort Sea off the Yukon coast and was the base for American whalers hunting bowhead from 1890; up to fifteen hundred people wintered here at the peak, in a settlement with buildings that still stand at Pauline Cove, and the contact was devastating for the Inuvialuit through disease and disruption. The island became the Yukon's first territorial park in 1987 and is co-managed with the Inuvialuit. It is now a reference site for climate change: the island is built of ice-rich permafrost, and as that thaws the coast is retreating rapidly, with buildings moved back from the edge.

What you actually see

• The whaling station - 1890s buildings still standing at Pauline Cove.
• The permafrost erosion - a coastline visibly retreating as ground ice thaws.
• The Inuvialuit co-management - the park run jointly with the community.
• The Arctic wildlife - muskoxen, caribou, bears and seabird colonies.

When to go

July and August only; sea ice and weather close access the rest of the year, and even in summer flights and boats are frequently cancelled by fog and wind.

Honest expectations

Access is expensive charter only and cancelled often. There are no services beyond ranger facilities. Polar bears are present and travel is with guides.

Nearby

Inuvik lies east in the Northwest Territories; the Beaufort Sea surrounds.