Car Hire Labrador - Mini guide to Labrador
Labrador, Canada, is one of the last great wilderness areas on earth, encompassing over 300,000 square kilometres of unspoilt land, including mountain ranges containing some of the oldest exposed rock on the planet. The Torngat, the Kaumajet, and the Kiglapait mountains feature steep walls that soar 1,524m out of the ocean.
The area is home to one of the largest (450,000 strong) barren ground caribou herds in the world, the George River Caribou Herd. Additionally, there are plenty of moose, wolves, lynx, porcupines and polar bears. You also won’t be able to miss the whales, seals and giant arctic hares.
Labrador is an excellent place to enjoy fishing, as brook trout typically tip the scales at three to four kilograms. The largest Ouananiche (a landlocked salmon) in the world was caught here. Additionally, there are upwards of 20,000 Atlantic salmon in some of the area’s rivers. In winter, activities include: snowmobiling, dogsledding, cross-country and downhill skiing, ice fishing, snowshoeing and winter camping.
Visitors to Labrador can see where the Palaeo-Indians lived 9,000 years ago. Alternatively, visit the 7,500-year-old Maritime Archaic Indian Burial Site, which is the most ancient evidence of a funeral in North America. Red Bay is where, in the early 1500s, the Basque whalers rendered whale oil for Europe.
The Innu and Inuit are Labrador's indigenous peoples and their history dates back many centuries, and their cultures are rooted in a deep, spiritual relationship with the environment. Whaling, fishing, and fur trapping brought European settlement around 1700.
Nearby Gros Morne National Park is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its stunning natural beauty and unique geological features. The Tablelands, a 600-metre high plateau that forms one of the world's best examples of rock exposed from the earth's interior, is a must-see.
Route 500 is a gravel road that crosses Labrador from Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the east to Labrador City/Wabush in the west. Distance is approximately 525 kilometres and travel time is 9 hours. Rail service between Sept-Îles, Québec, and Labrador is provided by Québec North Shore & Labrador Railway.
Air Transat offers charter flights from Toronto to Newfoundland and Labrador during the summer months. Communities on the Labrador coast are served by one ferry between Cartwright and Happy Valley-Goose Bay and two passenger and freight vessels that serve the areas between Pinsent Arm and Cartwright, and Nain and Cartwright.
