Duncan

Duncan is known as the City of Totems for the more than 40 carved poles that line its compact downtown, a Cowichan Tribes and Cowichan Valley service centre on Vancouver Island's Highway 1.

The totem poles, carved by local First Nations artists and added to over decades, turn a walk through downtown Duncan into a genuine outdoor gallery, and the Quw'utsun' Cultural Centre on the Cowichan River adds a deeper look at Cowichan Tribes history and art.

Duncan serves as the commercial and service hub for the wider Cowichan Valley, including the surrounding North Cowichan neighbourhoods, and sits at the gateway to a fast growing Vancouver Island wine region centred on the valley's warm microclimate.

The BC Forest Discovery Centre, with its own heritage steam train, traces the Island's logging history just north of downtown, and Duncan's small footprint and Highway 1 location keep it an affordable, central base for exploring the whole Cowichan Valley.