The Côte-Nord

The St Lawrence River was the lifeline of the wilderness beyond Tadoussac until the 1960s, when Highway 138 was constructed along the Côte-Nord to Havre-Saint-Pierre, 625km away, and later Natashquan, another 145km distant. The road sweeps from high vistas down to the rugged shoreline through the vast regions of Manicouagan and Duplessis. Traditional sightseeing diversions are thin on the ground in the villages and towns en route, but there is plenty to reward a journey to this remote region, not least the strong Aboriginal heritage and the panorama of spruce-covered mountains, the vast sky and the mighty St Lawrence. It is the river that holds much of what is most alluring in the Côte-Nord, from the striking beauty of the Mingan Archipelago to gazing at the Northern Lights aboard the Nordik Express.