Niagara : The winter wonderland
Winters often hold us back from exploring new places here. We were new to Canada. It was the freezing cold winters of February and we wanted to see Niagara! We had not got our driving licenses yet, so we decided to go by public transport. We took a taxi from our home to the Union station early in the morning. Then we took the 6am GO train to Burlington. This was my first journey by GO train. It was exciting! Once at Burlington we took the GO bus to Niagara Falls. After we got down at the GO station in Niagara, it was bit of a walk to the main falls area.
We passed through a number of casinos, wax museum and arcades before we reached the falls. We were expecting there would be some kind of entrance and an entrance fee to the falls area. To our surprise we saw the falls right there in front of us as we were walking! We stopped for a minute amazed looking at this huge falls in front of us. The wide view of the falls and the immense power of the current of water... It was scary! The epic power of falls and the feeling is very hard to put it in words. I could feel the gush of current through me. We stood there amazed trying to take in the mesmerizing beauty of Niagara!
We then walked to the Table rock welcome centre, which is the heart of the Niagara. The place is pretty and well maintained. It was a relief to be inside the centre since it was winter :)
We then proceeded to the elements by the rock which is open throughout the year. We had purchased the Winter wonder pass online which included all of the below attractions:
- Journey behind the falls
- Niagara’s Fury
- Butterfly conservatory
- Floral Showhouse
It also included two days pass for WEGO (Buses which connects the different areas of Niagara to the falls) and falls inclined railway (Connects the Casino, eateries, table rock and Fallsview)
We started with the 130 year old attraction ‘Journey behind the falls’. First you descend 150 feet by elevator and then there is a tunnel that gives you access to 2 observation portals. The Cataract and the Great falls portals are located directly behind the falls which is 1/3rd of the way behind the massive Niagara falls. The observation deck is generally closed in winters due to the ice.
It is spectacular view to see 1/5th of world’s freshwater crashing down right in front of your eyes. Niagara parks commission says, Niagara Falls had actually run dry once for 30 hours in March 1848 when millions of tons of ice had clogged the source of Niagara River.
Niagara’s Fury, which is the ancient story of Niagara, was another iconic experience. It is approximately a 10 minute 4D show in the 360 degree multi-sensory theatre. The water sprays, snow fall, thunder & rain and the moving platform makes you feel you are re-living the times when the majestic falls was created/formed. After the 4D show we took the inclined railway to the other side to have our lunch. It was a treat of Italian cuisine!
Post lunch we visited the butterfly conservatory and the floral showhouse. It was a self-guided tour through the 45 different species of over 2000 butterflies. The whole place had the feel of tropical vegetation. The floral showhouse is located south from the table rock/falls. This has been a very famous attraction for tourists for over 60 years. The variety of orchids and blooming of seasonal flowers are pleasing to watch.
We then returned to the horse shoe falls to have another view of it before we left. The mist which froze over the falls had formed ice casing in many places. The small blocks of ice were flowing down the gigantic falls.
Honestly, no pictures or the videos do justice to the amazing experience of viewing this wonderful creation of nature in person. No doubt it is worth coming again during summers!