The breathtaking Misty Fjords National Monument is a 3,570-square-mile swathe of virgin forest and plunging fjords, just to the east of Ketchikan. As the name suggests, the fjords are often cloaked in a fine mist, and the wilderness is home to bears, bald eagles, whales and more.

Back in its 19th century heyday Wrangell was a lawless gold rush town, and it's still a little rough around the edges, but it's also a very welcoming place, ideal for exploring the surrounding Alaskan wilderness. Take a trip to the nearby Anan Wildlife Observatory for the chance to see black and brown bears at close proximity.

Sitka was founded by Russian fur traders in 1799 as the city of New Archangel, and there is still a discernible Russian influence here, including the distinctive St Michael’s Orthodox Cathedral. The town also enjoys spectacular natural surroundings, facing the Pacific Ocean and dramatic Mount Edgecumbe.

The tiny city of Seward, home to just 3,000 people, enjoys a spectacular setting on the edge of Resurrection Bay, on Alaska’s southern coast. Surrounded by the mountains and forests of the Kenai Fjords National Park, it’s a great base for exploring the Harding Ice Field and the stunning scenery of the Kenai Peninsula.

Kodiak is known as Alaska’s ‘Emerald Isle’ thanks to the lush green countryside, a landscape crisscrossed by gushing salmon-filled streams that provides a home to around 3,000 Kodiak bears, the world’s largest. Ships dock in Kodiak city, an important fishing port with a fascinating Russian heritage.

Geographic Harbor is situated in Alaska’s stunning Katmai National Park, and is known for its large brown bear population. As you approach the shore you might spot the bears foraging for clams and crabs when the tide goes out, or fishing for salmon in the mountain streams.

Out on the Alaskan peninsula, 250 miles to the south west of Kodiak Island, lies the remote village of Chignik, home to fewer than 100 permanent residents. The area is best known for its fishing, and is home to bird species including bald eagles, marbled murrelets, emperor geese and Steller’s eider.

Dutch Harbor is the port that serves the city of Unalaska, and is known for the hardy fishermen who brave the turbulent, icy seas off the Aleutian Islands. Points of interest include the remains of defensive fortifications built during the Second World War and the striking Russian Orthodox church.

St Paul is the largest of the Pribilof Islands, situated in the middle of the Bering Sea between the US and Russia. Sparsely populated by humans, the island comes alive in summer with some 500,000 northern fur seals and sea birds including tufted puffins, auklets, kittiwakes, cormorants and fulmars.

Way out in the Bering Sea, St Matthew Island is one of the most remote locations in Alaska, a day’s sailing from the nearest human settlement. Foxes and voles are the only resident mammals, though polar bears have been known to visit, and the cliffs provide shelter for birds including Brünnich’s guillemots, parakeet auklets and glaucous gulls.