This winter, Parc national Tursujuq is pleased to offer an all new back-country skiing adventure. Well off the beaten path, the itinerary has been planned to wind between mountains, over plateaus and frozen lakes, and through breath-taking landscapes. Immersed in Inuit culture, visitors will have the opportunity to discover the park’s richest gifts. More than just a skiing expedition, you will be part of an adventure focused on the sharing of Inuit knowledge, exploration of a vast territory occupied by nomadic peoples for more than 3,000 years, and including the warm welcome of the community of Umiujaq.
Good to Know
In Nunavik, the weather is constantly changing. Expeditions may be adjusted to take into account current conditions. The expertise and know-how of your guides will maximize your adventure experience. Flexibility and the ability to adapt to a modified timetable and activities are important prerequisites for travellers in Nunavik's parks and an authentic element of your northern experience. Finally, due to the size of Parc national Tursujuq, long distances are normally travelled by snowmobile. An honest personal assessment of your physical condition for this activity is required; snowmobile operation skills are not a prerequisite.
ITINERARY
Day 1 | Umiujaq and the Community Life
Your flight from Montreal will be connecting through Kuujjuarapik then Umiujaq. On your arrival in Umiujaq in the early afternoon, you will be met by a park staff member and shuttled to your hotel to check in. You will then be welcomed at the visitor pavilion for tea and an introduction to the ins and outs of daily life in a northern community. Next, a guided tour of the community with historical overview is provided. Returning to the visitor pavilion, you will take part in a discovery and training activity on winter expeditions and camping. This will be followed by dinner.

• Meals: Breakfast in flight / snack served on arrival and supper at the park visitor centre (bannock, prepared meat or fish).
• Accommodations: Cooperative hotel of Umiujaq.
Day 2 | Excursion to Billy's Lake
The day starts with the preparation of all the equipment required for the expedition and loading of the qamutics and pulkas. After lunch, departure for your back-country skiing adventure in the park, following the Umiujaq River for 15 km to its source. On arrival at camp, your guides will invite you to accompany them in some ptarmigan hunting, the meal planned for that evening. Accommodations are a wood-heated winter shelter (yurt-type) at the foot of the mountains.


• Meals: Continental-type
breakfast at the cooperative hotel (tea or coffee, croissants or toast,
fruit, cereal, porridge or granolas) / lunch at the park visitor centre
(chicken or tuna pasta salad, raw vegetables and dip) / supper in the
communal igloo (prepared meat or fish, vegetables en papillote,
bannock).
• Accommodations: Winter shelter design (yurt type)
Day 3 | Lac à Billy to Lac Misinamapi
Departure in the morning for the second campsite near Lac Misinamapi. Following an intermediate ascent, the 20 km trail continues across a vast undulating plateau with scattered frozen lakes. Your guides will teach you how to set up a traditional Inuit winter camp. Your accommodations for the next two nights will be in a tupik (heated traditional inuit tent) next to the lake.


• Meals: Continental-type
breakfast at the park visitor centre (tea or coffee, croissants or
toast, fruit, cereal, porridge or granolas) / lunch (sandwiches or
wraps, salads, raw vegetables and dip) / supper at the cooperative hotel
(bannock and swiss fondue, meat and vegetables en papillote).
• Accommodations: Traditional heated inuit tent (tupik)
Day 4 | Exploratory ski excursion
Day
4 will begin in the morning with final preparations at the park visitor
centre and followed by departure on your genuine winter expedition:
five days and four nights at Lake Tasiujaq. In the park, you will learn
to pitch a traditional Inuit tupik (tent) and have an opportunity to
climb the nearby cuesta (by ski or snowshoe). This day and the next will
include visits to several sites of interest next to the lake as well as
inland, and two nights accommodations in a heated traditional Inuit
tent. Longer distances will be travelled by snowmobile and qamutik;
on-site activities will include backcountry skiing and snowshoeing. A
number of traditional activities will be proposed throughout your
adventure by your Inuit and Cree guides.

• Meals: Continental-type
breakfast at the park visitor centre (tea or coffee, croissants or
toast, fruit, cereal, porridge or granolas) / lunch (sandwiches or
wraps, salads, raw vegetables and dip) / supper at the cooperative hotel
(bannock and swiss fondue, meat and vegetables en papillote).
• Accommodations: Traditional heated inuit tupik.
Day 5 | Lac Misinamapi to the Rivière Sukkuq
After dismantling the camp in the morning, departure for the third campsite next to Lac Tasiujaq at the mouth of the Rivière Sukkuq. The route covers 22 km across the plateau to Lac Persillon, followed by a gentle descent to Lac Tasiujaq. Accommodations for the night in a winter shelter (yurt-type) at the mouth of the Rivière Sukkuq.

• Meals: Continental-type
breakfast at the park visitor centre (tea or coffee, croissants or
toast, fruit, cereal, porridge or granolas) / lunch (sandwiches or
wraps, salads, raw vegetables and dip) / supper at the cooperative hotel
(bannock and swiss fondue, meat and vegetables en papillote).
• Accommodations: Winter shelter design
Day 7 | Two Lakes to Umiujaq
The final day of your back-country skiing adventure begins with an ascent of a nearby cuesta. On your return from this excursion, lunch will be served at the camp site. After dismantling the camp in the afternoon, return to Umiujaq by ski (5 km). Accommodations: in the community at the cooperative hotel


• Meals: Breakfast at the camp (cereals, porridge or granolas, freeze-dried expedition meals such as cheese, spanish or fines-herbes omelettes / lunch onsite (wraps, sandwiches or freeze-dried expedition meals such as pork and mushrooms, tomato and parmesan cheese macaroni, coconut milk curries on rice, Mandarin-style beef / supper at the camp (prepared chicken or fish, couscous, pasta).
• Accommodations: Cooperative Hotel if Umiujaq
Day 9 | Return Trip Home
On your last day in Umiujaq, you will have free time to explore the village on foot. Departure for Montreal in the afternoon. Your flight with stopover for security screening at Kuujjuarapik and then onwards to your final destination.
• Meals: Breakfast at the cooperative hotel (eggs, bacon, toast, granolas, fruit) / lunch at the park visitor centre / supper in flight).
Notes
Price per peson, before taxes. All-included (meals, accommodations, transportation from Montreal). Preferential prices for JBNQA beneficiaries, 2 participants are needed to guarantee departure, contact us to join a group. Although hunting and trapping are strictly prohibited into the National Parks of Quebec, Inuit have the right to practice their subsistence activities throughout Nunavik, including the parc national Tursujuq. Thus, witness a group of Inuit hunting caribou, ringed or trapping foxes may be part of the Nunavik parks' experience.
Safety
All the expeditions led by Tursujuq national park team can be followed day by day through daily satellite positioning. The team can contact the park staff anytime with a satellite phone. It's part of visitors responsibilities to plan their own safety: training to prepare your trip and having the proper insurance is part of it. Therefore, we strongly advise visitors to take an insurance policy covering air evacuation costs.