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Almost any trip in southern British Columbia brings you sooner or later to KAMLOOPS , a town which has been a transport centre from time immemorial - its name derives from the Shuswap word for "meeting of the rivers" - and which today marks the meeting point of the Trans-Canada and Yellowhead (South) highways, the region's principal transcontinental roads, as well as the junction of the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National railways. The largest interior town in southern British Columbia (pop. 82,000), it's fairly unobjectionable, except when the wind blows from the uptown sawmills, bringing in a putrid smell that hangs heavy in the air. If you're on public transport, there's no particular need to spend any time here; if you're camping or driving, however, it makes a convenient provisions stop, especially for those heading north on Hwy 5 or south on the Coquihalla Hwy, neither of which has much in the way of facilities.

Kamloops is determinedly functional and not a place to spend a happy day wandering, but its downtown does have a spanking new Art Gallery , the largest in BC's interior - not that it has much competition. Located in the heart of downtown at 465 Victoria St at 5th (May-Sept Mon, Fri & Sat 10am-5pm, Tues-Thurs 10am-9pm, Sun noon-4pm; Oct-April Mon-Wed, Fri & Sat 10am-5pm, Thurs 10am-9pm, Sun 10am-4pm; $5), the gallery showcases Canadian artists, in particular those from the West and British Columbia.

The Kamloops Museum on Seymour Street (Tues-Sat 9.30am-4.30pm; free) is one of the more interesting provincial offerings, with illuminating archive photographs (especially the one of the railway running down the centre of the main street), artefacts, period set-pieces and a particularly well-done section on the Shuswap. The stuffed-animal display, without which no BC museum is complete, has a fascinating little piece on the life cycle of the tick presented without any noticeable irony. For a more complete picture of local aboriginal history and traditions, call at the Secwepemec Museum & Heritage Park , just over the bridge on Hwy 5 (summer daily 9am-5pm; winter Mon-Fri 8.30am-4.30pm; $5) or attend the Kamloops Pow Wow , held every third weekend in August ($7 a day). If you're travelling with kids and driving, the nonprofit Wildlife Park , 15km east of town on the Trans-Canada Hwy (daily 8am-4.30pm; $6, children $3.75), may be worth a stop for its range of local and more exotic animals.

Perhaps the most interesting thing about Kamloops is its surroundings, dominated by strange, bare-earthed brown hills that locals like to say represent the northernmost point of the Mojave Desert. There's no doubting the almost surreal touches of near-desert, which are particularly marked in the bare rock and clay outcrops above the bilious waters of the Thompson River and in the bleached scrub and failing stands of pines that spot the barren hills. Most scenic diversions lie a short drive out of town, and the infocentre has full details of every last local bolt hole, with a special bias towards the two hundred or so trout-stuffed lakes that dot the hinterland. The nearest and most popular on a hot summer's day is Paul Lake Provincial Park , 17km northeast of town on a good paved road, with swimming and a provincial campsite ($12).