With my shoulders squeezed between two tourists I watch the landscape of Banff spread out below the gondola as we glide higher into the mountains. The scenery is unparalleled – the vast expanse of the Canadian Rockies reveals itself, carpeted with spruce and pine trees, and cut by the electric blue river weaving through the valleys.
But despite the striking landscape below me, I’m hot, cramped and irritable. To get on the gondola I’d stood in a 30-minute queue, sweating in the Canadian summer sunshine, and as I clamber out at the summit, I find myself elbowing my way through crowds and dodging to avoid being caught in the background of selfies. It’s undeniable that the views up here are breathtaking, but it’s also a stark reminder than Banff is a victim of its own beauty. The 2025-26 season was the busiest on record for Banff national park, welcoming some 4.5 million visitors through the year. While grudgingly acknowledging that other travellers have the same right as me to be here, I can’t help being annoyed that there’s just so many of them.
