Nahanni National Park Reserve

With Canada being such a gigantic country with large parts without any roads, it is no wonder that many of its greatest wonders are seldom known, let alone visited. Nahanni National Park Reserve, for instance, is home to canyons, waterfalls, and mountains rivaling anything seen at Banff or Jasper.

Many of those who do make the long and expensive journey out here come to raft on the South Nahanni River. Its four canyons have earned it the nickname of the "Grand Canyon of Canada." Perhaps the most picturesque section of the canyons is "The Gate," a narrows overlooked by a towering pinnacle. Right upstream from the canyons is the equally impressive Virginia Falls, which at 96 meters is twice the height of Niagara Falls.

Away from the South Nahanni River is the smaller but arguably even more imposing Scimitar Canyon, which runs like a crack through the surrounding landscape. It has only been descended once ever. Only slightly more accessible are the steep Ram Plateau and the jagged Cirque of the Unclimbables, the latter home to one of the Fifty Classic Climbs of North America.