Spitsbergen, lying a mere 600 miles from the North Pole, is the largest island of the Svalbard (meaning “Cold Coast”) Archipelago. Although draped in secluded darkness during the northern winter, this frigid land is dramatically transformed into a place of perpetual sunshine during its summer. The sunshine reveals an abundance of iconic Arctic mammals – whales, Walruses, seals, Arctic Fox, Reindeer and Polar Bears, surrounded by towering snow-capped mountains, forbidding glaciers and flower-studded tundra; the scenery here is nothing short of breathtaking! Adding life to the vast skies are avian treats such as the elegant Ivory Gull, the immaculate King Eider and the lovely Red Phalarope, splendid in its brick-red summer plumage. This epic high Arctic birding and wildlife journey will circumnavigate Spitsbergen and include some smaller islands within the Svalbard Archipelago.