Churchill Beluga Whales courtesy Tourism Manitoba

Churchill, Manitoba – The small all-white Beluga is the most vocal of all whales. Their chirping-like sounds has earned them the nickname the ‘Canaries of the Sea’. There are legends that their chirps, whistles, clicks and clang sounds could be heard through the wooden hulls of the ships of the early explorers, and they drove some seamen mad. One of the really cool features of this whale is that it is the only one that can turn it’s head and watch you. In fact, it can even change the shape of its head by blowing air around its sinuses. About 500 belugas live year-round in the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, and about 3000 belugas hang out each summer at the estuary of Manitoba’s Churchill River at Hudson’s Bay. It’s considered the best beluga viewing opportunity in the world. Tours are available to view and listen to them, and one company even offers the opportunity to snorkel with them. .

There are no actual roads to Churchill, so the two ways to travel there from Winnipeg are by air (2 hours) or rail (48 hours.) You could also drive to Thompson, Manitoba and then fly or take an overnight
train.