Canada's most westerly Province, British Columbia is huge and diverse. If you love the great outdoors, you will never be bored in a Province that is so beautiful, with such variation, and with so many opportunities for hiking, rafting, sailing and skiing, to name just a few.

British Columbia is mostly studded with mountains that puncture vast, blue skies. Such scenery is overwhelmingly beautiful, but it is not all that British Columbia offers. You will also find long stretches of rugged coastline, sandy beaches, wineries, forests and algae-fed lakes that glisten with an intense, aqua hue. There is even Canada's only desert: the Okanagan is home to rattlesnakes, scorpions and prickly pear cacti. If you are seeking unspoiled wilderness, then British Columbia is the perfect Province to be delightfully alone in.

If you happen to get lonely, there are plenty of modern and lively cities and towns in British Columbia. Vancouver has scores of galleries, museums and bars. But even in Vancouver you are never too removed from nature: the city contains Canada's largest city park, Stanley Park.

This may be because, with nine national parks and plenty of provincial parks, British Columbia is first and foremost a destination renowned for its natural settings rather than its urban ones. From kayaking with whales off the Province's islands to driving down a highway that is flanked by mountains, British Columbia will enchant you.

Geography
British Columbia is Canada’s most westerly province, bordered to the south by the USA (Washington, Idaho and Montana states), to the east by Alberta, to the north by the Northwest Territories and the Yukon, and to the west by the Pacific Ocean and the ‘Alaskan Panhandle’. It is mainly covered by virgin forests, and encompasses the towering Rocky Mountains (rising to 3954m/12,972ft), vast expanses of semi-arid sagebrush, lush pastures on Vancouver Island’s east coast, farmland in the Fraser River delta, and fruitland in the Okanagan Valley. The highest mountain is Fairweather at 4663m (15,298ft). Between the eastern and coastal mountains is a lower central range. The coastal range sinks into the Pacific, with larger peaks emerging at Vancouver and Queen Charlotte islands. The Columbia River flows from the Rockies into Washington State and out into the Pacific Ocean.