Canada - Lake Louise

Lake Louise is perhaps the most photographed place in the country and rightly so, it is stunning. Typically most travellers stop for a quick look, en route to Banff or Jasper but thanks to a few tips from travellers we met along the way, we booked a night at the Hi Hostel in town. Well worth it, the hostel was again more like a fancy ski lodge and this place deserves more than just a glance.

The nearby Moraine Lake is arguably more impressive than Lake Louise. The turquoise coloured glacially-fed lake is bright blue due to the refraction of light off the rock flour, which is constantly deposited into the lake. Lake Louise on the other hand is emerald in colour as it contains more rock flour. You can canoe in both and make sure you climb up the rocks at Moraine Lake to see the turquoise stand out. We saw them both on overcast and rainy days...they still looked amazing.

The other highlights here are the hiking trails, in particular the 'Plain of Six Glaciers' trail. Walk to the end of Lake Louse, and just keep going. You'll climb and climb some more up to a view of six surrounding glaciers and towering mountains. You'll get a view back down the valley to Lake Louise which looks no bigger than a puddle. Yes it was raining, yes it was cold but that just made it more fun. Plus perched near the top is the 'Plain of Six Glaciers Tea House' (summer only) - a self sufficient tea house serving tea, coffee, hot soups and lunch right by an open fire. Brilliant!