Pond Inlet (Mittimatalik- Place where Mitima is buried) is renowned for its scenery. Located at the eastern entrance to the Northwest Passage on the Eclipse Sound and overlooking famous Bylot Island, mountain ranges are viewable in all directions and icebergs often dot the ocean.
Pond Inlet provides you with intimate access to marine mammals such as narwhal and beluga whales, migratory birds, and polar bears. Pond Inlet also has unique trips for those seeking something different – bicycle atop the sea ice and parasail above gigantic glaciers. This is the perfect spot to indulge your arctic fantasies.
Essential experiences:
- Exploring the incredible beauty and splendor of nearby Sirmilik National Park, by dogsledding, snowmobiling, boating, or skiing
- Walking through the community and meeting the people whose strong cultural values continue to thrive in everyday life, and attending a performance by the Tununiq Arsarniit Theatre Group
- Discovering the floe edge, glaciers, explorable ice caves and scenic fiords
Named Mittimatalik (place where Mittima is buried) in Inuktitut, no one knows for certain who is Mittima, but he is believed to be buried here.
The local area is teeming with wildlife. Pods of seal as well as beluga, narwhal, bowhead, and orca whales all frequent the floe edge. Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds occupy nearby Bylot Island. The scenery, the wildlife, and the friendliness of the people of Pond Inlet have made it a “must see” destination in the Arctic.
This wildlife, mixed with the stunning scenery are the reasons that eco adventurists visit nearby Sirmilik National Park. The park holds unparalleled adventures for those looking to explore the sea, the mountains, and the floe edge.
Inuit have occupied the area for over 1000 years and were joined by the rush of whaling ships from the United States and Europe in the 1800s. Unusually, the first trading post in Pond Inlet was not opened by the Hudson’s Bay Company, but rather by private Scottish investors in 1910. In 1912, both the Anglican and Catholic churches founded missions in Pond Inlet. The Hudson’s Bay Company later opened a trading post in 1923.
Pond inlet is the home of the Tununiq Arsarniit Theatre Group. This original Inuit theatre group was founded in 1987 and has been developing and performing for over 20 years. The group develops its plays and performances by consensus, involving elders as actors and writers. Inuit language, culture, legends, myths, and the wisdom of the elders are central to all the plays developed.
Today, Pond Inlet is the largest community in Northern Baffin Island, and enjoys excellent infrastructure and air transportation links. Nearby Sirmilik National Park and Tamaarvik Territorial Park are unforgettable experiences.
