Turquoise lakes in the Canadian Rockies
Banff National Park, founded in 1885, is the Canadian Rockies at their most photogenic. Lake Louise and Moraine Lake glow an improbable turquoise from glacial silt, set beneath hanging glaciers and sharp peaks. The town of Banff has a gondola up Sulphur Mountain and natural hot springs, and the historic Fairmont Banff Springs hotel looks like a Scottish castle. Summer is for hiking to teahouses above Lake Louise and canoeing; winter brings skiing at Sunshine Village and Lake Louise. Elk and bighorn sheep are common sights.