Canada's offerings don't get any closer to paradise than the Kitlope Heritage Conservancy. Spanning more than 400,000 hectares, the conservancy is the world's largest intact coastal temperate rainforest.
A wet region, guests must be willing to get damp to explore this pristine range of snow-capped mountains and glacial-sourced waterways.
Being the traditional territory of the Henaaksiala people, there are many cultural remnants of the tribe throughout Kitlope. While many features of the landscape still retain their traditional Tshimshian-language names, travelers can hike to the village site of Miskusa or the Raven-Eagle Clan village site along the intersection of the lower Kitlope and Ka-ous.
Hikers with a keen eye may even be able to spot the less-obvious signs of indigenous culture, including culturally modified trees, which often are the focal points of many endemic rituals. They often feature faces carved in ways that keep the trees alive, growth alterations that makes the trees grow in spiral patterns, and many others human-influenced growth methodologies. While some are marked by a blue ribbon, there are several that have yet to be found, so hikers must keep an eye out for these living indigenous relics.
Look toward the trees in Kitlope Valley
Posted on Tuesday, Feb. 28th, 2012
