The North Pole is one of the most wonderful places on this planet. Nearly untouched by human civilization, the polar desert excites, enthralls, and delights even the most seasoned travellers.
While there are many compelling motivations to visit the North Pole — it’s a good idea to choose an expedition team with a real polar pedigree. For example, Quark Expeditions has been taking tourists on Arctic and Antarctic adventures for three decades. What’s more, they’ve been breaking ground in the industry, like when they discovered the Emperor penguin rookery at Snow Hill Island.
Let’s look at some compelling reasons to visit the North Pole.
The Animals
You’ll likely see some amazing animals on your journey to the North Pole.
- Whale: There’s a good chance that you will see a pod of beluga whales from your ship. These social creatures are fascinating to watch and very friendly. What’s more, they’re very vocal communicators, speaking in clicks and chirps.
- Polar Bear: The Kings of the Arctic are the most dominant animals of the North. These powerful creatures have a massive bite force that can easily pull a ringed seal from ocean to land. When polar bears aren’t hunting seals and walruses, they’re dining on whale carcasses. Usually, bears can smell their prey at least a kilometre away. Watching a polar bear eat is incredibly fascinating. You’ll likely see such an event on your trip to the North Pole.
- Caribou: You’ll probably see a large herd of magnificent beasts with beautiful antlers and gorgeous white and brown fur called caribou. Also known as reindeer, these animals move fast and have excellent eyesight.
- Arctic Fox: The size of a small furry puppy, Arctic foxes, are adorable and social creatures that aren’t afraid of strangers. Usually, they feed on leftovers, birds, insects, eggs, and berries. Don’t be surprised if one of these creatures comes up to you!
- Arctic Wolves: Smaller than northwestern wolves, the Arctic wolves are beautiful creatures that feed on muskoxen, hares, caribou, and carcasses. Unlike regular wolves, Arctic wolves are known to approach humans out of curiosity.
The Adventures
With the right expedition company, there are many activities you can enjoy at the North Pole. For one, you can take hot air balloon rides to get a beautiful view of the ice ridges, massive crevices, turquoise melt pools and ice-covered terrain. For the other, you can take a helicopter ride to visit glorious frozen landscapes and see remote parts of the planet.
The Journey
On the way to the North Pole, you’ll probably visit several interesting places. For example, you can start in Helsinki, Finland, and enjoy beautiful local monuments, museums, restaurants, and Finnish saunas. You will probably stop at Murmansk, Russia, where you can see fascinating historical sights like the Alyosha Monument or the Lenin icebreaker. And on the way back, you can enjoy the gorgeous slopes, cliffs, and enthralling creatures at Franz Josef Land.
Whether you’re curious about sea creatures, creatures on land, snowy landscapes, interesting food, historical sites, or different cultures, you’ll find plenty to do on your adventure to the North Pole.
