Nahanni River Adventures and Canadian River Expeditions - Eco-River Expeditions from Alaska to Nunavut
Best Adventure Travel Companies {On Earth}

For Beginners
For Whitewater
Canoeing Enthusiasts
For Whitewater
Rafting Enthusiasts
For CRE/NRA Alumni
Getting to your rendezvous point for Nahanni River Adventures
Getting
Here
Order / Download a Free Catalogue for Nahanni River Adventures
Order Free
Catalogue!
Sign Up for E-News for Nahanni River Adventures
Sign Up
for E-News
Frequently Asked Questions for Nahanni River Adventures
FAQ
What to Bring for Nahanni River Adventures
What to
Bring
View a Nahanni River Adventures Video
Watch
Videos
View a Nahanni River Adventures Slideshow
View
Slideshows
See What Others are Saying About Nahanni River Adventures
Guest
Testimonials
Plant and Wildlife Viewing - Nahanni River Adventures
Plant and
Wildlife
Not so Tall Tales - Nahanni River Adventures
Not so
Tall Tales
Links - Nahanni River Adventures
Yukon & Alaska Links
Go BackBack To Previous PagePRINT
Two Week Nahanni River SlideshowPrint This Page

View Slideshow
It is a land of mystery, myth and romance.
Nahanni is only accessible by air. The Twin Otter is the ''workhorse of the north''. The flight upriver is a ''lifetime highlight''.
Flying upriver gives you a birds eye view of much of the country you will float through on the river.
Virginia Falls - nearly twice the height of Niagara. This is the starting point of our 8 and 12 day Nahanni raft trips. The canoe trips begin further upriver.
We fly on to Rabbitkettle Lake at the ''top end'' of Nahanni National Park.
Landing on Rabbitkettle Lake.
Secrets of the millennia unfold at Rabbitkettle Lake and Hot Springs. Geological clues reveal the unique tale of a land that was mostly spared from the scouring of the last ice age. Not far from the lake, Rabbitkettle Hotsprings has created Canada's largest tufa mounds - high terraces of soft calcium nearly half the size of a football field. From faults in the earth's crust, hot sulpherous water laden with dissolved calcium, gurgled to the surface. As the streams trickle off the mounds, they leave behind fragile carbonate terraces. So delicate are these features that even footsteps can erode them; and barefoot hikers must tread lightly on these natural wonders in the accompaniment of a Park interpreter.
Water trickling over the delicate features of the tufa mounds.
The mounds are thought to be approximately 10,000 years old.
Pools, not unlike an oriental garden, are created by the action of the calcium.
The flat, moving river above Virginia Falls allows canoeists time practice technique before reaching the whitewater of the canyons below the falls.
Albert Faille was a trapper and prospector in this country early in the century. He was the central character in the 1962 National Film Board Movie entitled Nahanni. You can obtain this classic from our office.
Albert Faille's cabin on the Flat River.
We came upon this cabin in 1984. It was built on the outside of a river bend, likely 50 feet from the bank. By the time we found it, the bank had eroded back to the cabin and 1/2 way under. It was teetering over the water. Two months later it was gone. A graphic example of the erosive force of the river.
This is Albert Faille's cabin in Fort Simpson. It has been preserved and is an interesting spot to visit.
After two or three days of paddling you reach Virginia Falls.
Virginia Falls, nearly twice the height of Niagara. Nailicho is the Dene name for the falls. The center spire of harder rock that splits the flow, is referred to by canoeists as Mason's Rock. Bill Mason was a film maker, artist and environmentalist who did much to educate the public about wild rivers and wild places. The falls were named after the daughter of American explorer, Fenlay Hunter in 1928.
Virginia Falls dominates an area so large that it has its own map!
The power of the falls is captivating.
Weather permitting, one option at Virginia Falls (on all but the 1 Week) is to hike to the top of Sunblood Mountain. It is a full day, rigorous hike with rewarding panoramic views from the summit.
The view from the top of Sunblood Mountain reveals an unusual phenomena. This river twists and weaves like a prairie river even though it lies in a mountain landscape. Much of the Nahanni was not glaciated in the last ice age. The Nahanni flowed across a flat plain and the mountains rose up around it forming the canyons. It is called an ''antecedent river''. Unlike the ''younger'' rivers that slice straight down through the mountain landscape, the Nahanni is an ancient river, older than the surrounding landscape.
Departing Virginia Falls.
Painted Canyon is the name of the gorge created by the falls.
Canoeists use spray decks to manage the whitewater below the falls.
Third Canyon features the narrow chasm of The Gate and the spire of Pulpit Rock.
Mountain Caribou often swim across the Nahanni in Third Canyon.
We hike to top of the Gate for a panoramic vista of the canyon walls.
Second Canyon.
The river enters the mountain ringed valley known as Deadmen Valley.
The Nahanni has a history as old as a haunted gold mine. At the turn of the century, two prospecting brothers - Frank and Willie McLeod were lost and two years later their bodies were found dead and headless. On that day the creek beside their camp was named Headless Creek and the surrounding, mountain ringed valley was named Deadman Valley.
The legends and fame of the river were further staked in 1954. Adventurer Raymond Patterson published his eloquent account of a 1927 exploration on the Nahanni entitled ''Dangerous River''.
From Deadmen Valley you enter First Canyon.
Cow and calf moose.
Hiking opportunities abound and are an important part of every trip.
Spectacular campsites are found within the Canyons. This one is at Lafferty Creek. All of them are in the land of the midnight sun!
Dall Sheep inhabit the canyon's craggs.
The canyon's rapids take one last kick at us.
We float out of 4th Canyon, greeted by the aroma of hotsprings.
Soaking in Krause Hotsprings - recounting tales of upriver adventures in the canyons
Leaving the canyons we enter the widening valley and the braided channels of ''the Splits''. Here you can discover exciting stories told by tracks on the many sand bars.
A grizzly track
Near the confluence with the Liard River you arrive at the small First Nation community of Nahanni Butte - population 100.
Down town! Nahannni Butte is only available by air or water except for a few months in the winter when a winter road extends across the ice.
The people of the Liard Valley are world renowned for their skills crafting birch bark baskets.
Leaving the Nahanni for the Liard, we often see wood bison.
MAP | TRIPS | RESERVE YOUR TRIP | OUR RIVERS | PLAN YOUR TRIP | ABOUT US
WHAT'S NEW | SHOP | CONTACT US | HOME | SITEMAP
Getting Here | Catalogue | E-news | FAQ | What to Bring | Videos | Slideshows
Testimonials | Plant and Wildlife | Not So Tall Tales | Links
Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions For Website Use
Canadian River Expeditions
Nahanni River Adventures
CANADIAN RIVER EXPEDITIONS &
NAHANNI RIVER ADVENTURES
PO Box 31203 Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada Y1A 5P7
Phone (867) 668-3180 | Fax (867) 668-3056

RESERVATION: 1 (800) 297-6927
info@nahanni.com
© 2007 - Nahanni River Adventures
 

Nahanni River Adventures, Nahanni offers exceptional expeditions by raft and canoe on the great rivers from Alaska to Nunavut including: South Nahanni River, Tatshenshini River, Alsek River, Firth River, Snake River, Wind River, Stikine River, Burnside River, Coppermine River, Horton River, Mountain River, Yukon River, Taku River, Gataga River and Sea Kayaking and whale watching at Point Adolphus, Alaska, over-looking Glacier Bay National Park.

Our expeditions encompass Nahanni National Park (South Nahanni River), Kluane National Park (Alsek River), Ivvavik National Park (Firth River), Glacier Bay National Park (Alsek River), Herschel Island Territorial Park (Firth River).

Nahanni River Adventures operates in Alaska (United States of America), Yukon Territory, Northwest Territories, Nunavut and British Columbia (Canada).

Nahanni.com is the online presence of the company, Nahanni River Adventures Ltd.

Nahanni River Adventures works with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society to ensure the environmental integrity of our wild places.

Neil Hartling, founder of Nahanni River Adventures, is also the author of: Nahanni, River of Gold...River of Dreams. Alaska to Nunavut - The Great Rivers. Nahanni River Guide. These books may all be purchased through Nahanni.com.

Common misspellings of the name are Nahani, Nahannie, Nahanie, Nahoni, Nahonni.
Nahanni River Adventures.

Rentals and Self-Guided Information
designed and produced in the Yukon by Outcrop Yukon