The North Slave is a place of opposites

A vast lake sunk into the rock-ribbed shield. Dense boreal forests buffering the wide-open Barrenlands. Ultra-modern industries meld ways of life that are older than history.

On the north shore of Great Slave Lake lies Yellowknife, the NWT’s bustling capital city. It too is a place of opposites, with its famously rugged personality blended with a quirky arts and culture scene, and the cosmopolitan amenities of a big city contrasted with welcoming small-town friendliness.

But Yellowknife isn’t the only place to see in this land of opposites and opportunities. The North Slave is also home to the fabled East Arm of Great Slave Lake, with its plunging shore cliffs, profound blue depths and celebrated wilderness lodges — all protected by the recently enshrined Thaidene Nëné National Park Reserve. Legendary paddling adventures await you in the North Slave, like the Thelon River, whose banks are patrolled by caribou and muskoxen. Come winter, the sparkling blue waters of the North Arm crystallize into frozen highways, including the roads to Canada’s first diamond mines, made famous in TV and film.

Most of all, the North Slave is simply home — to residents new and old. The Tłįchǫ, the Chipewyan, Mètis and Yellowknives Dene thrive in six deeply traditional communities here, sharing the land with diverse newcomers from all over the world who’ve made this region their home. There’s no better place to immerse yourself in the calm, rooted culture of the North.