Places to Go in British Columbia

British Columbia has six diverse and beautiful regions, each offering unique opportunities to experience Indigenous culture. Learn about the accommodation, activities, food and arts within each region.

Cariboo Chilcotin Coast

Xwisten Experience Tours: Traditional Fishing Spot

Traditional Languages:

Tŝilhqot’in | Tse’khene | Dane-Zaa | St̓át̓imcets | Secwepemcstin | Nłeʔkepmxcín | Nsyilxcən | Nuxalk

The fjordic coast town of Bella Coola, where the Pacific Ocean meets mighty rainforests and unmatched wildlife viewing opportunities, is home to the Nuxalk people and the region’s easternmost point. The Cariboo Chilcotin Coast spans the lower middle of BC and continues toward mountainous Tsilhqot’in Territory, where wild horses run. Follow the Fraser River southeast through golden, sage-covered wide open spaces of the Secwepemc people.

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Kootenay Rockies

Kootenay Rockies

Traditional Languages:

Ktunaxa | Secwepemcstin | Nsyilxcən

The Ktunaxa have inhabited the rugged area around the Kootenay and Columbia Rivers on the west side of Canada’s Rockies for more than 10 000 years. Visitors to the snowy mountains of Creston and Cranbrook continue to seek the adventure this dramatic landscape offers. Experience traditional rejuvenation: soak in hot mineral waters, view Bighorn Sheep, and traverse five mountain ranges.

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Northern British Columbia

A top Tow Hill on the northern part of Haida Gwaii

Traditional Languages:

Sm̓algya̱x | Nisg̱a’a | Gitsenimx̱ | Dalkeh | Witsuwit’en | Nedut’en | Danezāgé’ | Tāłtān | Dene K’e | X̱aayda Kil | X̱aad Kil

Many distinct Indigenous people, including the Nisga’a, Tahltan, and Haida, occupy the unique landscapes of Northern BC. Indigenous people co-manage and protect this untamed expanse – more than half of the size of the province – with a world-class system of parks and reserves that contain ancient rainforests and authentic coastal villages, lava fields, and glacial valleys. Visit an ocean-front longhouse or raise your head to the totem poles and mists of Haida Gwaii.

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Thompson Okanagan

Sylilx / Okanagan Territory - Westbank / Kelowna

Traditional Languages:

Secwepemctsin | Nsyilxcən

The NLaka’pamux, Okanagan and Secwepemc First Nations culture is bound to desert landscapes and fertile soil, dense forests, mountains, and fresh water. Modern Indigenous wine-making expresses plant knowledge in the Southern Okanagan; reconstructed pithouses (kekulis) preserve and share traditional Indigenous innovation and technology with visitors to Secwepemc Territory. Enjoy the modern luxury of traditional Indigenous culture in the Thompson Okanagan region.

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Vancouver Coast & Mountains

Slhx̱i7lsh (Siwash Rock) at Stanley Park in Vancouver

Traditional Languages:

She shashishalhem | Sḵwx̱wú7mesh sníchim | Kwak̓wala | Éy7á7juuthem | Hul’q’umi’num’ | Halq’eméylem | hən̓q̓əmin̓əm | St̓át̓imcets | Nle?kepmxc’in

This region is home to the Coast Salish people, including Squamish, Lil’wat, Sto:lo, Musqueam, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. Experience the thrum of urban Vancouver, nearby ancient coastal communities and mountains, forests and fjords, alpine lakes and fertile deltas. Modern museums and award-winning restaurants share Indigenous knowledge and tell the stories the land has given to the people.

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Vancouver Island

McKenzie Beach in Tofino

Traditional Languages:

Malchosen | Éy7á7juuthem | SENĆOŦEN | Kwak̓wala | enaksialak̓ala | Hailhzaqvla | Nuučaan̓uɫ | Diitiidʔaatx̣ | a’’islak̓ala

The Coast Salish, Nuu-chah-nulth and Kwakwakaw’akw people have long navigated the waters of the Pacific Ocean around Vancouver Island.  They share their deep, respectful relationship with the bountiful ocean and temperate rainforests. The abundance has sustained whale pods and allowed complex metal and wood art to flourish.

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