Kugaaruk (Pelly Bay)

A Hamlet Formerly Called Pelly Bay, Home To Netsilingmiut Families, With Caribou And Arctic Char Fishing, Carving And Sealskin Work, And Sled And Boat Trips On Pelly Bay. A Very Remote Community With Limited Visitor Services, Reached Only By Air · Kugaaruk, Nunavut

Kugaaruk, meaning little stream in Inuktitut, is an Inuit hamlet of about 1,000 people on Pelly Bay at the south end of the Boothia Peninsula, and until 1999 it was called Pelly Bay. It is home to Netsilingmiut families, whose ancestors followed seals at the breathing holes in winter and caribou and arctic char in summer, and whose skills with sewing and carving are still strong. A Catholic mission opened here in the 1930s and the community grew from camps drawn to the mission and the trading post. The hamlet is reached only by scheduled flight, normally from Rankin Inlet or Cambridge Bay, and it is not a sightseeing town. There is no tour desk and no fixed programme. Visitors arrange sled, boat and fishing trips through local outfitters and the Hunters and Trappers Organization. Services are a co-op store, a small lodge and a few takeaway counters (confirm). It is a distant place that rewards planning.

Kugaaruk, a hamlet of about 1,000 people on Pelly Bay at the south end of the Boothia Peninsula, reached by scheduled flight from Rankin Inlet or Cambridge Bay; coordinates approximate, Kugaaruk, Nunavut, Canada

Kugaaruk keeps no visiting hours because it is a living community. The co-op store, the lodge and any community hall keep their own hours, often a weekday pattern of roughly 9 to 5 with shorter days at weekends - confirm by phone. Sea-ice and snowmobile trips run roughly April to June while the ice holds, and fishing and boat trips run roughly July to September in open water. Winter is dark, cold and quiet with few services for visitors. Walking the shore costs nothing at any hour. Sundays and public holidays are quiet, so buy food and fuel the day before.

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