Alaska is a U.S. state, the largest in area, located on the northwest tier of North America. Alaska is a sparsely populated land of immense natural beauty. At one-fifth the size of the lower 48 States, Alaska has 3 million lakes, over 3000 rivers, 17 of the USA’s 20 highest peaks, 100,000 glaciers and 15 national parks, preserves and monuments.

To the Aleut peoples, Alaska was “Alyeska,” meaning the great land. Visitors today are likely to agree: Alaska is truly one of the world’s special places. Those who visit can’t help marveling at the exotic wildlife, magnificent mountains, glacier-carved valleys and steep, rocky coastline. And after they spend several days encountering one wonder after another, they marvel at just how much of this special place there is to see.

The sheer size of Alaska is hard to imagine: It is one-fifth the size of the rest of the United States. The town of Barrow on the northern Alaska coast is more than 1,350 mi/2,174 km north of Ketchikan (the same distance as New York City to Miami). Likewise, Attu (at the west end of the Aleutian chain) is more than 1,500 mi/2,413 km west of Anchorage (a distance nearly equaling that of Los Angeles to Houston). Acreage aside, Alaska is large in lots of other ways: It has six distinct climatic regions, the tallest mountains, the biggest glaciers, the most plentiful fishing and the wildest nature preserves on the continent.

With such abundance, it’s no wonder that more and more travelers visit Alaska each year, particularly aboard cruise ships. Because of this heavy traffic, some towns in southeastern Alaska and such attractions as Denali National Park and Portage Glacier can seem a bit overrun at times. It must also be noted that Alaska isn’t cheap: Per-day expenses in remote parts of the state are comparable with those in New York City or London. Nonetheless, we think the cost is well worth it — a bargain, in fact — given all that you’re able to see.