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Never Ending Sunlight, Polar Bears and an Igloo Church in Inuvik, Canada

When I moved to Canada from the UK, my idea of a ‘remote community’ was one maybe an hour away from a main town.

This definition has been a little challenged in Canada, and I have to continually update it the further we travel around this gigantic country. Canada is a bountiful land of fly-in, boat-in, drive-a-long-long-way-in communities.

Inukshuk stone structure in front of a hotel in Inuvik, Canada
Inukshuk stone structure in Inuvik, NWT

One of the latter is Inuvik, a North West Territories town placed seemingly on top of the world, reached by a 750km gravel road and ferry combination in summer and an iceroad in winter.

There’s a three week period every spring and autumn when the ferries cannot run (ice melt and break up). During this time, the town is only accessible by air.

Inuvik, Canada, is the most interesting community I’ve ever been to. Read on to find out why!

Inuvik's main street with shops and lots of trucks
Inuvik’s main street

Inuvik, NWT: A place like no other

Inuvik, Canada, is a purpose built town, created in the 1950’s after one of the local native settlements had a tendency to flood and the government wanted a more permanent solution. Interestingly enough, the ‘replaced’ town, Aklavik, still exists.

Colourful houses in Inuvik, Canada
Example of housing in Inuvik

The town is now home to 3,000 people (a mix of First Nation and non-native) mainly working in local services, government and oil/gas exploration. Why is it so fascinating?

It’s a desert town for one thing. While it’s very cold in winter, not much snow actually falls.

Above ground protection for wiring and plumbing in Inuvik, Canada
Above ground protection for wiring and plumbing

Secondly, every building is built well above the ground, with the water and sewage pipes running externally i.e. not underground. This is due to the permafrost that Inuvik is built on; if it was to thaw, the whole town would sink.

Thirdly? Being above the Arctic Circle, Inuvik enjoys 30 days of 24 hour sunlight in summer and then 30 days of darkness in winter.

Public safety warning sign for polar bears in the Inuvik area

An Arctic town of extremes

As we discovered in June, continuous sun can lead to very hot temperatures, even here in the Western Arctic.

Gemma with a polar bar at the Inuvik airport

In winter, however, the average temperature hovers around -20C (and less). I couldn’t imagine living in such extremes of temperature and day lengths.

Asking around, we found that the locals generally seemed to prefer winter since there was more to do (think snowmobiling, ice-fishing, dog mushing etc.) and far fewer bugs.

Of course, I couldn’t write about Inuvik, Canada, without mentioning the ferocious and incessant hoards of mosquitoes. It just wouldn’t paint a full picture!

Silver, round church in Inuvik, Canada
Inuvik’s ‘igloo’ church – Our Lady of Victory Catholic Church

Things to do in Inuvik, NWT

You may wonder what there is for visitors to do here in summer. Well, like Inuvik itself, it’s an interesting mixture.

The town sits next to the Mackenzie Delta, so there are boat rides out to other river communities on offer, as well as longer trips north to the town of Tuktoyaktuk, perched on the Arctic Ocean.

Curved white blocks with white seating and a simple altar in the igloo church
Inside Inuvik’s igloo church

Back in town, there’s an impressive Igloo Church; an evening tour took us up to the roof to see the unique structure.

Other local attractions include a community greenhouse (actually very cool) and the stuffed polar bear at the airport. There’s also a polar bear skin in the children’s section of the library.

There are affiliate links in this post. If you make a qualifying purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

A ladder leads into the ceiling of the church, with mirrored panels either side
The church’s ingenious roof heating and cooling system

Grocery prices in Inuvik

A place that isn’t a favoured local attraction is Inuvik’s North Mart supermarket. Here is where we discovered the delights of grocery shopping in remote Northern Canada. It’s a dangerous thing; one visit may well bankrupt you.

The fresh fruit was, as expected, very expensive ($3.69/kg for bananas, $18/kg for mushrooms). Even canned goods were astronomical ($4 for a can of beans). Strangely, dairy and eggs were a price closer to what we were used to, sometimes even cheaper.

Hockey area surroundings filled with raised garden plots
Inuvik’s community garden

Plants in the hockey rink

We were also impressed with Inuvik’s community greenhouse. It’s volunteer run, and aside from the private plots ($100/season), the greenhouse also produces and sells ornamental and vegetable plants to local communities.

The growing season is short here, from late May to the end of September, but the 24 hour daylight (and heat) enables plot holders to grow a substantial amount (and variation) of crops. The building is an old hockey rink; one of the best re-uses of a building I have ever seen!

Colourful watering cans in front of raised gardens

Reflecting on Inuvik, Canada

We may not have exactly been fans of the 24 hour daylight thing (and the subsequent 24 hour onslaught of mosquitoes) but something about Inuvik grew on me.

Our original intention was to paddle up the Mackenzie River to Tuktoyaktuk, and at first I was disappointed we didn’t make it. Now though, I realise that our time in Inuvik and on the Dempster Highway was everything I wanted from our ‘up north’ experience.

As well as changing my outlook on what is considered as ‘remote,’ it also widened my viewpoint on what it is to live in Canada. Life in Inuvik is similar but so very different to life somewhere down south.  Yet, somehow, it is all still Canada. Now that IS incredible. Keep on surprising me Canada. 

Please water me sign on raised garden, Inuvik, Canada

Looking to book a stay in Inuvik, NWT?

Arctic Chalet – Highly rated on Booking.com

Nova Inn Inuvik – Great location

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Check out these recently published posts:

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Thursday 19th of February 2015

[…] at the current end of the highway (it is being extended to Tuktoyaktuk on the Arctic Ocean), and while we enjoyed our time there, it was also 33 degrees Celsius for the entirety of our stay, 24 hours a day. It was a bit intense. […]

How We Travelled Canada for $45 a day | Off Track Travel

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[…] $1.50/litre. At time of writing, it is now $1.05/litre! The highest we ever saw was $1.89/litre in Inuvik, NWT. But it was the Arctic, so pretty […]

Lorraine

Friday 16th of January 2015

I lived in Inuvik for 5 years and seeing these photos makes my heart ache with fond memories of all those landmarks. I loved every minute of it - the clear air, the endless sky, the mix of cultures and that Arctic feeling of being far removed from the rest of the world. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Gemma

Monday 19th of January 2015

Inuvik is such an unique place - living there for 5 years would have been so interesting! No matter where you moved afterwards it would have been such a contrast. I would love to visit in winter to experience the full effect of Arctic life. Thanks for your comment Lorraine

Krista

Wednesday 6th of August 2014

Interesting. Yikes @ the thirty days of darkness - I think that would be hard to get used to, but also interesting to experience once.

Jay

Wednesday 6th of August 2014

I spent some time up there myself over the winter. See my blog above. From what I was told, though, there hasn't been a polar bear nearby in decades.