Gaspésie... home to spectacular seascapes, mountains and crystal-clear rivers, as well as a vast array of activities and impressive cuisine drawn from the sea, land and forests. Discover the world’s most accessible Northern gannet colony, moose, whales and towering peaks reaching over 1,000 m in height. But best of all is Gaspésie’s legendary hospitality.
How to get there
Distance between main cities
Did you know?
To be discovered absolutely
The Gaspésie Tour abounds with sites steeped in history and remarkable natural attractions, from the rocher Percé to diverse wildlife.
The Gaspésie Tour
This roughly 900-km loop route is tucked in between the sea and the mountains and features valleys, bays, shores and rivers. The north route follows the coastline of the vast St. Lawrence River to the tip of the peninsula where you can take in the immense gulf. The south route follows the lush Matapédia valley—salmon country.
The long, sandy beaches and temperate waters of Chaleur Bay make it a favourite among water sports enthusiasts. The bay also hugs the cliffs of the Parc national de Miguasha, a site featuring well-preserved fossils dating back 380 million years.
The route that loops around Gaspésie was completed in 1929.
Percé and its magnificent rock
In 1603, Samuel de Champlain came upon an islet consisting of a huge sheer rock formation with a natural arch, which he baptized “Isle Percée” (pierced island). With time, both the town and the rock took on the name of Percé. Today, only one arch remains on the giant monolith, which loses 300 tonnes of rocks each year. Too much erosion to allow for anyone to get close to the site. But that’s okay because you actually have a better view from an excursion boat.
It will take you to the Parc national de l’Île-Bonaventure-et-du-Rocher-Percé, where you can explore the trails on the island, which is the sanctuary of the largest colony of Northern gannets in the world. Nearly 116,000 of these elegant white birds nest there from April to October. You just need to listen: the distant cackling becomes an assault of raucous calls when you come within a few metres of these winged creatures that are the delight of photographers.
This 5-million-tonne monolith is 385 million years old.
Wildlife observation
Visitors from all over come to observe the most accessible colony of Northern gannets in the world. Each year, 200,000 birds belonging to 11 different species, including more than 100,000 Northern gannets, travel to nest on the cliffs of Bonaventure Island, North America’s largest migratory bird sanctuary.
Between May and October, seven whale species come to the Forillon-Percé area, including the gigantic blue whale.
