Lake Louise, a glacial lake in Alberta's Banff National Park, is spectacularly beautiful. Its wonderful emerald colour comes from rock flour carried into the lake by melting water from glaciers overlooking the lake. Its eastern shore is dominated by the 487 room Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a luxury resort hotel built early in the 20th century, and standing in splendid isolation.
The hotel combines unrivalled service with naturally beautiful scenery and welcoming grandeur. It was built to function only in summer, but was "winterised" in 1982.
Known as Canada's Diamond in the Wilderness and the Hiking Capital of Canada, Lake Louise is a year-round resort with a great range of activities including skiing, skating, sleigh rides, horseback riding and wonderful Banff National Park hiking trails include trips to Saddleback Pass, Fairview Mountain, Mirror Lake, Lake Agnes, Big Beehive, Little Beehive, Devils Thumb, Mount Whyte and Mount Niblock.
The Lake Agnes hike is 3.4km one way with an elevation gain of 385m. The Lake Agnes teahouse is a wonderful reward. It has been operated by Cynthia Magee since 1975 in a log cabin built in 1905. Cynthia rebuilt it in 1981. It can be reached only by foot or horseback and operates in summer months when it serves up to 600 people a day, as well as visiting porcupines and ground squirrels.
All cooking is done by propane gas and a wood stove provides heating as it's not unusual to have snow falls in July.
Location
Alberta, Canada.
Cost
Rooms at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise start at $295 a night.
For further information
Alberta Tourism
www.travelalberta.com
Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
www.fairmont.com
Canadian Tourism Commission Australia
Ph: 02 9571 1866
www.canada.travel
Visas: Australians do not require a visa for stays of up to six months. Passports must be valid for the period of the intended stay.
Electricity: 110V at 60Hz using plugs with two vertical pins.
Time zone: GMT -7
Currency: The Canadian dollar.
Telephone code: +1.
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