Cliff(y) Goes Travelling

1 Whitehorn Road, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada Daily: 8.00am - 5.00pm Since all the trails were closed due to the unfriendly weather, my BFF and I spent most of our time at the Wildlife Interpretive Centre after taking Lake Louise Gondola . It's a small, but informative centre to discover what makes life in Banff National Park uniquely spectacular.

Whitehorn Drive, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada Daily: 8.00am - 5.00pm Within Banff National Park, I was having a dilemma deciding between Banff Gondola and Lake Louise Gondola. I opted for the latter in the end, which is the gateway to one of the largest ski resorts in North America. I was in for a big surprise as I wasn't expecting snowfall at all in June 2019.

111 Lake Louise Drive, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada Named Lake of the Little Fishes by the Stoney Nakoda First Nations people, Lake Louise is a glacial lake within Banff National Park known for its turquoise colour. In front of it is Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, a luxury hotel built in the early decades of the 20th century by Canadian Pacific Railway.

311 Cave Avenue, Banff, Alberta, Canada Daily: 9.30am - 5.00pm ( 17 May - 14 Oct) Wed-Sun: 11.00am - 5.00pm ( Other times) Cave and Basin is a site of natural thermal mineral springs around which Banff National Park, which is Canada's oldest national park, was established in 1885. Said to be the birthplace of the national parks in Canada, it's the lowest component of nine sulfurous hot springs of Sulphur Mountain.

101 Mountain Avenue, Banff, Alberta, Canada Daily: 8.00am - 11.00pm If you're looking for a place to escape from the crowds in Banff Downtown and smell the flowers, look no further than Cascades of Time Garden. The tranquil terraced garden, which underwent a  C$2.6 million (~S$2.68 million)  redevelopment project that was completed in mid-2018, is located across Bow River Bridge.

91 Banff Avenue, Banff, Alberta, Canada Wed-Sun: 9.30am - 5.00pm ( 17 May - 14 Oct) Sat-Sun: 11.00am - 5.00pm ( Other times) Banff Park Museum was established in 1895 to house an exhibit of taxidermy-mounted specimens of animals, plants and minerals associated with Banff National Park. From vintage stuffed bears to birds of all sizes, discover more about the wildlife inside western Canada's oldest natural history museum.

Banff, Alberta, Canada The town of Banff was incorporated as a municipality in 1990, which was the first one to be incorporated inside a national park. Situated at an elevation of 1,383 m, it's Canada's highest town. The bustling town centre covers an area of 3.93 square kilometres. The photo below was taken at a store called Cool as a Moose.

600 Banff Avenue, Banff, Alberta, Canada Located at the northeastern end of the town of Banff is Inns of Banff (3*), a mountain resort hotel that's the terminus of the Roam bus system. It's owned by Banff Lodging Company, a big company that manages 11 hotels, 8 restaurants and 2 spas at the point of writing.

Icefields Parkway, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada Here's the last post on the Jasper to Banff One-Way Sightseeing Tour by SunDog Tours. After experiencing the ever-popular Columbia Icefield Adventure, my BFF and I continued our journey to Banff, stopping by a few more points of interest along the way. One of them is Peyto Lake that's famed for its brilliant turquoise colour.