Haida Gwaii is in the top 3 of my beloved Canada sites and to think I only visited after such a long time traveling!! I'm also not alone on this and there are quite a few reasons for it which I will get into later. The national park Gwaii Haanas covers the entirety of the southern islands and it's very protected. Therein also lines a world heritage site SGang Gwaay which I am not too fond of by itself because the real unique site is the entire park. Whenever you see Planet Earth and they mention "west coast Canada" they tend to actually show Gwaii Haanas. This is a 5 star site when it ever gets inscribed and I think the main issue is that the Haida nation aren't so super keen on world heritage status and this makes the bureaucracy difficult. It also doesn't need any sort of protection because First Nation protection already supports the area really well.

While you technically can visit the park without a guide there are strict guidelines such as permits, radioing in when driving on the roads and overall unless you do a large tour on your private yacht this isn't going to be worth the trip. Just join a tour it will be worth it, trust me. Therein lies the problem for most tourists: costs! Unlike Siem Riep or Macchu Picchu there are huge cost entries to visit and thus you will not find the gap year students hanging around. The tour alone set me back ~$2k (forgot it that was US or CAN) and doesn't include the trip to get there. I personally drove up to Prince Rupert because afterwards would continue to the Yukon. Driving up from Vancouver takes a day and if you also want to do that then try to get the overnight ferry across and the tour will start the next morning. The BC Ferries are very comfy! At the other end you just take the ferry across to meet your tour guide. Many people just fly in from Vancouver and rent a car to explore the open northern island but it's not part of the proposed site (still nice though). There are 2, 3, 4 day tours these days, with the shortest a new entry so you can technically fly and get a glimpse before flying back out. It's not recommended. You should invest in the four day trip to make it worthwhile.

The general itinerary is done with a zodiac boat and doesn't involve much walking but mobility is still required for getting in and out of the boats. There are several other Watchman sites such as SGang Gwaay on the way which gives you a good insight into how people lived before. The guide also said many things are unknown to them and many cultural heritage has been lost over the ages. I still think the other sites should be used an extension.

But there's more! Cedar forests - wow. From afar it looks a bit like the generic Canadian forest but get closer and you'll spot the difference and once you step inside you'll be in another world. The misty forests overgrow everything with green mosses - it's epic. I was even thinking of hiking around here but with wildlife, Haida protection and the lack of interested ("it's just forest" the guide said hmm) parties made me gave up on that idea although camping IS done here. The main issue with the Cedar trees is that deer have made this place their home and they spread like wildfire (no wildfires here btw - too wet) and while the deer had an easy time swimming over from the mainland their natural predators (wolves) never bothered. So the deer are everywhere and they eat so much - it's not good for the trees. There isn't much one can do about it and hunting deer isn't even a thing here. Racoons and rats unfortunately also made it to the islands.

Aside from deer one can also spot black bears, birds (eagles, puffins among many) and the marine life is even better! Sharks (greytip reef sharks usually), maaaaany whales such as orcas and humpbacks, sea lions, seals, jellyfish and crabs. The marine life alone is probable what should inscribe this site. Sure, you can find these in other places but there is a good reason they all like to come here. The Pacific ocean brings in a lot of nutrients and the surfaces from the west side of the island all the way to the mainland coast is very shallow, 50m or so max. This is like a heaven for these creatures. They can swim in and out in their favorite habitat.

Costs aren't the only thing keeping the masses away. There is only so much to do and it's easily covered in 4 days and that included hot springs and relaxation time. You could stretch it out but in the end the tours are limited. If you come here by yourself and camp it will obviously take longer but then you are also limited in how far you can go. Unless you are seasoned kayaker you will not get far and this limits the demographics and interest by the masses. Third problem is that it's coooold on the island. It's actually hard to image because when you are warm on Vancouver island and go north a bit you would expect it to be almost the same - you know what I mean. Well, NO. it's cold and windy. Again, mass tourism isn't really interested in that. Even in summer on the tour one has to wear 2 layers of just jackets and that is over your regular clothes...

The trip to Gwaii Haans will stay in your memory forever.