Visit this valley in the heart of the Canadian Badlands for eerie landscapes, echoing, empty ghost towns and the tallest dinosaur in the world.
Offering myriad opportunities for adventure, the otherworldly landscapes of Drumheller Valley have been the palaeontologist's destination of choice since the 1880s, when the first dinosaur skull was discovered here. In the years since, the area has accumulated a vast collection of dinosaur fossils and is now frequently referred to as the Dinosaur Capital of the World. Located just 90 minutes from Calgary, the valley is well worth a visit for those with even a passing interest in these prehistoric giants.The Royal Tyrrell Museum houses a wealth of fossils which will allow you to track the early history of life on Earth up to the Ice Age. This is a great place to take the kids, with plentiful interactive exhibits, hands-on excavations, and guided tramping tours.To get a truly unique view over the valley, why not ascend the 106 steps to the mouth of the world's tallest dinosaur? Gaze out from the jaws of this immense creature to see stunning views of the valley and the Red Deer River as it unfurls far below you.Another defining point in Drumheller's history was its time as a coal mining town. There are a number of museums around the town cataloguing this important era, and the lives and times of the miners who lived here. Visit the Homestead Antique Museum to see artefacts from the period, including an entire house bought in 1919, or head to the ghost town of Coulee to learn about the lives of the miners' children at the East Coulee School Museum.The landscape around Drumheller is nothing short of spectacular and is well worth a visit in its own right. With its sandstone hoodoo rock formations and sculpted canyons, it's easy to see why stars such as Clint Eastwood and Dustin Hoffman have chosen to shoot films here. Grab your walking boots and discover the area for yourself or, if you're visiting in July, try to make it to the annual passion play. Staged for three hours in the open-air amphitheatre, this yearly performance features actors and volunteers from all over Alberta and is attended by thousands of visitors from across the world.
