Rocky Mountaineer

Leave Vancouver and take your seat on the celebrated Rocky Mountaineer to Kamloops, Canada’s most scenic train ride. Keep your camera handy and gaze through the window at the spectacular passing scenery, which changes at every turn. Enjoy two days on board with dazzling views of lake shores, mountain peaks and winding canyons. Look out for the churning waters of Fraser Canyon’s Hell’s Gate and finish the day on the edge of peaceful Kamloops Lake.

After your night in Kamloops, re-board the Rocky Mountaineer and follow the spectacular North Thompson River through the mountains to Jasper National Park, whose rugged peaks and wild rivers are home to grizzly bears, moose and caribou. Here you’ll discover the mountain wilderness, admiring unbroken glacial landscapes filled with lakes, caves and waterfalls on an enchanting scenic tour. Afterwards, enjoy some leisure time in pretty Jasper, a small mountain hamlet, where you can choose to be whisked up to 2277m on the Skytram for panoramic views of the surrounding mountains.

Explore the natural wonders and snowy peaks of Yoho National Park, where cascading waterfalls plunge into glacier-fed Kicking Horse River and the man-made Spiral Tunnels undercut steep slopes. Visit striking Emerald Lake, the park’s largest, and frozen for much of the year. Once you’ve had your fill of natural wonders, continue on to Banff, where you’ll spend the evening.

Travel along the picturesque Icefields Parkway, which winds its way through the valleys of both Jasper and Banff National Parks to gorgeous Lake Louise. Stop to ride a specially-designed Ice Explorer onto the creeping Athabasca Glacier, and admire beautiful Bow Lake, glistening beneath the mountains. Final stop of the day is the shimmering expanse of turquoise tinted Lake Louise, where you’ll stay in the elegant Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, right on the lakeshore.

Take a closer look at Banff before departing on an exhilarating gondola ride to the summit of Sulphur Mountain, whose boardwalks and observation decks offer views down the Bow Valley. Witness fast flowing Bow Falls, grizzly bear hotspot Lake Minnewanka, the unexpected surprise at Surprise Corner and the rocky turrets of the Hoodoos on a tour of Banff. Then it’s time for the grand finale: a magical helicopter tour over the Rockies. Finally, on to Calgary where you can ascend the Calgary Tower for sweeping city views – a clear contrast to the natural splendour of the Rockies.