Into the wild

“Don’t stop again unless we see a bear doing handstands!” pleaded the man at the back of the bus.

The trip through Denali National Park had become a marathon, with more photo opportunities than we’d imagined possible. We’d barely begun before an Alaskan brown bear lumbered into view beside the river on our left, then a threesome to our right. And then another, scooping up giant clawsful of cloudberries, a late-season munch to tide it through its imminent hibernation.

And not only bears: there were picture stops for a family of moose, a fat porcupine waddling busily along the valley floor, red foxes and a shadowy lone wolf, and caribou with unfeasibly large antlers staring majestically from the open tundra. Bald eagles soared overhead, directing our sights to Mount McKinley (also known as Denali, at 20,320ft the highest mountain in the USA) glistening with snow.

Denali is a highlight of Alaska, but it’s by no means the only place where the wildlife is awesome. Sailing north through the Inside Passage, past hundreds of tiny islands and spectacular fjords, we reach Ketchikan – the most southerly town in Alaska and salmon capital of the world, resplendent with picturesque wooden houses and the world’s largest collection of totem poles – and Juneau, Alaska’s capital, which is only accessible by sea. It lies in front of the mighty Mendenhall Glacier that flows from the Juneau Icefield to wetlands dotted with beavers’ dams. Deep crevasses in the glacier’s ice river glow a rich, iridescent blue.

South of town, Tracey Arm is a narrow fjord dotted with ice floes, leading to the dramatic Sawyer Glacier, where seals bask and flocks of puffins flutter energetically over the water. To the north, Skagway is redolent with its Gold Rush history as the 1890s gateway to the Klondike goldfields.

Along Alaska’s glacier coast, inquisitive humpback whales take a closer look at passing ships, while rafts of sea otters back-pedal through the water, delicately keeping their lunch close to their chests. Yakutat Bay, in a coastal wilderness south of the towering St Elias mountains, is a playground for bears along the shoreline, while pods of dapper black-and-white orcas perform their synchronised swimming routines in the open water.

Alaska’s diverse fauna evolves from, and revolves around, the mighty glacial landscape, the spectacular ice white backdrop providing the perfect playground for Alaska’s wondrous wildlife. You might not see a bear doing handstands, but Alaska does have to be seen to be believed.

For more information visit our USA & Canada page.

Please note, we cannot guarantee that you will see the wildlife mentioned in the above article during your visit to Alaska.