Whale Route

The Whale Route takes you to a land of giants and offers you the marvels of the sea. It can even lead you off the beaten track, where few people have the opportunity to go.

IN A LAND OF GIANTS

Côte-Nord follows the St. Lawrence for 1250 kilometres (775 miles). The Whale Route lives up to its name, since 13 different species including blue whales can be found in the waters of the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. You can participate in boat, Zodiac or even sea kayaking excursions departing from several locations to observe these fascinating mammals. Whales can also sometimes be seen from the shore. Here is further proof that this region is one of the best in the world for whale watching: four internationally renowned research groups are based here. Some of them even offer sea excursions with their researchers.

The Whale Route begins in Tadoussac—Tadoussac Bay is a member of the very select Most Beautiful Bays in the World Club. This fabulous panorama is at the heart of the Saguenay–St. Lawrence Marine Park. It is also one of the gateways to Saguenay National Park, which offers hiking trails with stunning views of the fjord.

New in 2009: the Garden of the Glaciers (Jardin des glaciers) in Baie-Comeau. Travel back in time and experience a boreal adventure 20,000 years under the ice at the new Glacier Exploration Center. Thanks to the magic of sound, image and light technologies, this multimedia expedition will take you deep into the heart of the glaciers. You can also explore the effects of climate change and the last ice age in the Maritime Adventure Park or visit the exciting Adrenaline Zone.

It is not only nature that has created giants in Côte-Nord; so have humans. A tour of Manic-5, the largest multiple-arch and buttress dam in the world, will leave you speechless. Route 389, which takes you there from Baie-Comeau, can also take those who love the north all the way to Fermont and Labrador.

MARVELS OF THE SEA

In Pointe-des-Monts, one of Québec’s most beautiful lighthouses awaits you in an enchanting setting. Exhibits within tell the stories of the lighthouse keepers and their families. Further to the east, Sept-Îles Bay offers its archipelago. Sea excursions, hiking, bird watching and whale watching are all on offer.

In Havre-Saint-Pierre, explore the marvels of the sea in the Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve of Canada. Several companies can take you to the islands where hiking and interpretation activities await you. An abundance of marine birds are found in the archipelago, which is the best place in Québec to observe the famous Atlantic puffin.

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

Offshore, one can glimpse Anticosti, an island the size of a small country, which is home to Québec’s latest national park. Almost uninhabited by humans, this island offers fascinating landscapes, of which the Vauréal falls and canyon are the most representative. White-tailed deer are so abundant that in Port-Menier, the island’s only municipality, they are spotted on the streets and even on people’s doorsteps!

Further east, the Whale Route ends in Natashquan, home to poet and singer Gilles Vigneault. Here is where the most unique part of the region begins. The Relais Nordik supply boat, which serves the Lower North Shore, will take those who want to get off the beaten track from village to village all the way to Blanc-Sablon, Québec’s easternmost town, on the Labrador border.

On the return journey, several ferries can take you to the “south” (as we say here) to give you a taste of Gaspésie and Bas-Saint-Laurent. You won’t regret it!