Get back to nature in the Alaskan wilderness

Alaska comes billed as "The Last Frontier", and it is no hollow claim. It is a wild and vast land where roads are so rare that in many places light planes are the normal mode of transport.

Anchorage has a quarter of a million people (almost half the state population), but less than a dozen communities have more than 10,000 inhabitants.

People often approach Alaska with unreasonable expectations. It certainly isn't winterbound all year. In summer, the only snow you'll see is on the tops of the mountains. In much of the state you can be wearing shorts and a T-shirt when the sun is shining - and with sunset around 11pm, that's most of the time. Igloos are never seen, and polar bears are only a threat in a handful of far north towns in winter.

But other expectations are more than satisfied. The landscape is truly magnificent: huge mountain ranges slice across the state containing 17 of the 20 highest peaks in the US; glaciers several miles wide force their way to tidewater and calve icebergs into the sea, enormous swathes of lake-pocked tundra stretch into the arctic distance, and dense spruce forests line the narrow fjords of the southeast.

All this provides a wonderful playground for hiking, salmon fishing, sea kayaking, whale watching and, in winter, cross-country skiing and dog mushing. Wildlife is super-abundant, and the highlight of many people's visit is the opportunity to observe bears, moose, caribou and wolves in the wild.

Alaskans are deeply divided on how to make the best of their state. A large minority like the place the way it is and support efforts to preserve land and wildlife. But environmentalist is a dirty word among the majority who feel the land should be exploited. Passions run hot, particularly over oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Preserve. It is understandable when oil royalties and taxes provide 80% of the state revenue. This income helps support the Permanent Fund Dividend, an annual gift of US$1000-1500 paid to every Alaskan: an oddly socialist institution in this fundamentally conservative state.

An Alaskan vigilante

Survival guide

Almost all tourists visit Alaska in June, July and August, though May and September offer comfortable temperatures, smaller crowds and lower prices. For optimal aurora viewing, cross-country skiing, and dog sledding visit in February and March.

Getting to and around Alaska is one of the big pleasures of a trip north. Driving the Alaska highway 2000 miles through Canada is fabulous, though it is hard to compete with the state-run ferry system. This can be treated as a budget cruise with whale watching opportunities from the deck as you chug through the pine-fringed waterways.

Journeys along the single rail line are wonderfully relaxing as superb scenery drifts by the huge windows, and nothing can compare with small plane flights across the forests, lakes and tundra - often the only way to reach remote communities.

Costs are relatively high. In the cities prices aren't much higher then the rest of the US, but transport around the state is expensive, and once out in remote towns prices skyrocket. Then again, on hiking trips into national parks you'll spend nothing at all.

Ideally you'll spent at least some nights in Alaska camped in the wilderness, but there's also a range of accommodation from motels and hotels to welcoming B&Bs and even a few basic hostels.

There is no distinctive Alaskan cuisine, but menus are characterised by an abundance of seafood, especially succulent salmon fillets, slabs of flaky halibut and enormous king crab legs. Catch it yourself on one of the many fishing trips available and it is doubly delicious.