Still relatively new and undiscovered by tourists, this province on the eastern Atlantic coast of Canada is hardly new to the locals who call it home. Indigenous tribes lived here 9,000 years ago. Vikings were the first Europeans to pass through here about 1,000 years ago, and the Italian explorer we know as John Cabot found what he called New-Found-Land when he landed at the northern tip of Bonavista Peninsula in 1497.

The dramatic landscape that unfolds across the mainland of Labrador and the island of Newfoundland is very old. In Gros Morne National Park, exposed rock has been found that is 1.25 billion years old—as old as the planet itself. The mountains in this UNESCO World Heritage Site are 20 times older than the Rockies.

Travel along some of the 10,500 miles (16,898 kilometers) of coastline to see 10,000-year-old icebergs drifting past, or humpback whales in their annual migration to the north. See the Northern Lights from Labrador more than 240 nights a year. Explore 186,411 miles (300,000 kilometers) of wilderness and see wildlife such as moose, black bears, and the largest caribou herd in the world. Thirty-five million seabirds gather in this province every year, and it’s also the meeting place of the world’s largest ocean currents. Visitors can hike, bike, and kayak to experience the landscape; fish for Atlantic salmon and brook trout; dogsled, snowmobile, and ski; golf on more than 20 courses; visit archaeological and historic sites; and much more.

Travel to Newfoundland by ferry or by air and to Labrador by ferry, coastal boat, air, train, or car. For information on rail services, phone 418/968-7808 or 418/968-7539 (departing from Québec) or phone 709/944-8205 or 709/944-2490 (departing from Labrador). For travel on coastal boat between North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and either Port aux Basques or Argentia, Newfoundland, phone toll-free 800/341-7981 or visit www.marine-atlantic.ca. For ferry service between ports within the province, information numbers vary by port. Visit www.gov.nf.ca/ferryservices.