I sometimes wonder why one experience stays with you - sticks in your head and gifts a rush of happy hormones every time you recall it - while another does not...
One thing you should know: we're big fans of light illuminations in this house - the whole family. Every December as the temperatures drop and the long nights roll in, you'll find us wandering the glittering paths of the Kew Wakehurst Glow Wild trail with our fellow can't-wait-for-Christmasers.
Or booking yet another stay at a wonderful Cotswolds hotel so we can head over to Blenheim's Christmas market, grab ourselves a steaming mug of mulled wine, and tackle their after-dark trail.
And so when we randomly came across a mention of the Vallea Lumina experience while researching our trip up Canada's Sea to Sky Highway, we didn't hesitate to snap up some tickets.
Darkness had fallen on this early-autumn night as we rolled up to the parking lot at the Vallea Lumina Experience, a quick 10 minute drive from Whistler. Mind you, we had to keep our eyes peeled for the entrance as signage was sparse. Thank goodness for GPS.
There was a bit of a party atmosphere at the base camp entrance, where a café serves hot drinks and bites to eat, the smell of s'mores roasting filling the air.
But as we stepped on through the archway to the start of the attraction, all that fell behind.
Pretty soon we were heading further into the forest and the feeling was building that we'd well and truly been embraced by the old growth woods.
Vallea Lumina - What's it about?
There is a Vallea Lumina story to followed, to be sure , as you make your way along the pathways of the attraction. Of two erstwhile hikers, and the search for a hidden valley.
There are crackly old-school radio transmissions; cryptic clues; legends and stardust. There's a bit of fun and a ton of whimsy.
In the end though, there's no mystery to be solved as such - you'll be following the indicated pathways one way or another...
What there is, in spades, is magic!
Vallea Lumina is a lights trail, and it is one of quite magnificent scale.
The further we ventured around the creatively imagined trails, the 1.5km length of which took us just over an hour to complete, the more enchanting the illuminations became.
I have to confess at some point during our walk I'd lost track of where the background story had led us, so taken was I with the sheer loveliness of the surroundings.
Now, if all this sounds like a somewhat excessive gushing on how wonderful the Vallea Lumina experience was, well, I'd agree with you there. On the other hand, this is our review and given just how much we really liked our evening experience, I'll gush to heart's content.
Vallea Lumina was really very special. We were even a bit emotional by the end of it, enveloped as we were in mood music and the shimmering spectacle all around.
And so our evening spent under the other-worldly forest canopy stays with me. Amongst a whole host of light experiences, Vallea Lumina was for us one of a kind. A woodland walk both moody and masterful.
Every time I remember our visit I can see it again in my mind's eye, I am transported back to that night, and that on its own is worth its weight in gold.
Location: Vallea Lumina address - Sixteen Mile Creek Forest Service Rd, Whistler, BC V0N 1B8, Canada
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