posteriori
In recent months, with all the recent absurd and offensive bullying about the United States somehow acquiring Greenland “one way or the other,” along with the territory´s March election, the world´s attention has been focused as never before on this massive island (at 836,330 square miles, bigger than Alaska and California combined and almost nine times the size of the United Kingdom), with a population of just 57,000. Technically it´s part of North America but deeply European in its orientation since its settlement and development by Norsemen (beginning in the 10th century and eventually reaching a peak population of up to 3,000) and since the early 18th century by the Danish.
Today Kalaallit Nunaat (or Grønland in Danish) is an autonomous part of Denmark with significant self-rule, and it´s definitely a most singular place, and a fascinating one for its stark beauty, unique culture, and Arctic adventures. And even before all the current brouhaha, just Greenland marked a momentous event: the inauguration this past December of Nuuk Aiport (GOH) to accommodate larger aircraft for international flights (this is to be followed by two more airports set to open in next year in the south of Greenland). In short, this is a land on the cusp of opening up to travelers and the world at large as never before.
The best time to visit (and therefore "high season," as it were) is from June through September, when the days are longer and the temperatures milder (up to the low 50s Fahrenheit during the day), whereas if you want to brave temperatures dropped to as low as -15, not to mention very short days and loooong nights. Meanwhile, winter – which pretty much here runs from October through May - is great for experiencing the dramatic Northern Lights and midnight sun; dog sledding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing; exploring icebergs, glaciers, and ice caves (via a mix of helicopters, small planes, and hiking); and spotting of Polar wildlife including polar bears, reindeer, Arctic foxes, and seabirds. And of course there are plenty of opportunities for community tourism and to learn about the life, culture, and history of the Inuit (89 percent of the population, whose ancestors migrated here around 2500 to 2000 BCE from what is today Canada´s Ellesmere Island, and who today speak three dialects of Greenlandic). So here are the top places to go and things to do:
Located near the bottom of the west coast, one of the world´s smallest and more unassuming capitals (above and top, with a population of just under 20,000) is a mostly charming, very small-town-feeling collection of largely wooden, low-slung, and often colorful houses and other buildings. The main drag, Aqqusinersuaq, is lined with shops, galleries, restaurants, along with several historical landmarks, institutions of culture and government, and the modern, gray-and-white Hotel Hans Egede, with 140 rooms.
Those historical landmarks include the country´s oldest building, the 304-year-old Hans Egede House, built by the eponymous Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary who founded the settlement in 1728 and of course had a huge impact on local society (he was also apparently an unsurprisingly less-than-Christlike dick to the locals, but hey); you can look but can´t enter, as it´s used for government functions: the 278-year-old Moravian Brethren Mission House (also used by the government); and the red-clapboard Nuuk Cathedral, (Annaassisitta Oqaluffia) built in 1849; near the cathedral is a statue of Hans Egede (not long ago plattered with red paint and the word “DECOLONIZE”). Other landmarks include the modern Hans Egede Church, Greenland´s largest, built in the 1980s.
Beyond all the above, for insights into Greenlandic culture and history, visit the Nuuk Local Museum and Greenland National Museum (home among other things to the famous Qilakitsoq Inuit mummies dating back to the mid-15th century); check out the fascinating work at the Nuuk Art Museum; take in a movie or a folkloric or modern performance, along with sampling local culinary specialties at the Katuaq cultural center; shop for local handicrafts; and get a taste of the burgeoning culinary scene.
Sisimiut
Greenland´s second largest town (pop. just under 5,600), on the southwest coast an hour´s flight north of Nuuk, is a mix of traditional single-family wooden houses and apartment blocks. And apart from Greenland´s adventure travel hub – with activities including hiking, dogsledding, snowmobiling, kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, boating, cross-country and heliskiing, mountaineering – it also has its own points of interest such as an downtown core of old Danish colonial buildings, considered the best preserved of its kind in Greenland; the Bethelkirke church dates back to 1771, and the oldest of them – dating back to the town´s founding in 1756 – houses the 39-year-old Sisimiut Museum, which especially focuses on regional history and culture dating back to the paleo-Inuit Saqqaq people). You can also catch exhibitions and performances in the Taseralik Culture Centre.
Pexels.com
Known for its striking basalt cliffs and volcanic landscape, Greenland´s largest bay – stretching 93 miles north to south and 62 mi. east to west – is a bit north of Sisimiut and about a 90-minute flight up the coast from Nuuk. There are eight towns scattered across its shores, the most prominent being colorful Ilullissat (Greenland´s third largest, pop. 4,700), which makes a great base for whale watching (in summer); adventure activities such as kayaking; and exploring Jakobshavn (aka Ilulissat) Glacier – the world’s fastest at 98 feet per day – as well as the UNESCO World Heritage Ilullissat Icefjord (above), which runs 25 miles inland from the bay and presents a dazzling dynamic dance of icebergs (some of them downright titanic). The town itself – whose name by the way is Greenlandic for “iceberg” – also has a vibrant dining, shopping, and gallery scene, as well as its own art museum. Other fetching towns in the bay area to explore local nature as well as Inuit culture include Aasiat, Qasigiannguit, and Qeqertarsuaq.
Pining for More Fjords
Rypefjord in eastern Greenland is impressive indeed, with craggy cliffs soaring as high as 6,160 feet. Others well worth exploring include Bernstorffs Fjord, also in the east (great for witnessing icebergs calving); Tasermiut Fjord in the southwest; and up in Northeast Greenland National Park, Kong Oscar Fjord and Alpefjord. If you´re limited on time or don´t care to venture so far afield, Nuup Kangerlua (Nuuk Fjord), right near the capital, also offers spectacular scenery as well as great summertime whale watching (humpbacks, minkes, and occasionally orcas). All of the above can be explored via Zodiac boats and kayaing on the water and hiking on land, led by experienced outfitters.
Michael Haferkamp
Glaciers, the Majestic “Rivers of Ice”
Besides the aforementioned Illussiat Glacier mentioned (pictured above), other amazing “rivers of ice” include Disko Bay´s Uunartuarsuup Sermia (Lyngmark Glacier) near Qasigiannguit and Kangerlussuaq (Russell Glacier) near Kangerlussuaq; Narsap Sermia near the village of Kapisillit not far from Nuuk; Kiattuut Sermiat close to the south Greenland town of Narsarsuaq; Tasermiut Sermia at the end of the eponymous fjord near Nanortalik, also in the south; Qalerallit Sermiat close to the eastern town of Narsaq; and Helheim Glacier, also out east on Sermilik Fjord.
Kujataa UNESCO World Heritage Site
Another of Greenland´s three UNESCO Sites stretches some 250 km along the lower southwest coast from the Nunap Isua (Cape Farewell) islands in the south to Nunarsuit Island, a 2½ -hour flight from Nuuk. It´s comprised of five spots with the remains of Viking history – the oldest remaining evidence of Old Norse culture spreading outside mainland Europe. They include the 40-person hamlet of Qassiarsuk, at the head of a fjord called Tunulliarfik, which is the site of Brattahlíd, the first successful (at least for several hundred years) European settlement in Greenland, founded around 982 by Eric the Red (who by the way also gave Greenland its deceptive name); you can see the remains of Tjodhilde Church, stables, assembly hall, and other buildings, along with reconstructions of both a Norse longhouse and the church (above, considered the oldest in North America - of which, remember, Greenland is geographically a part). Then, too, there are the early-12th-century Norse ruins of Garthar in the village of Igaliku near Narsausuaq and Kiattuut Sermiat glacier; a manor-house complex of some 40 buildings in Sissarluttoq; and Hvalsey (Qaqortukulooq in Geenlandic), a onetime farmstead where you´ll find Greenland´s largest and best preserved Norse ruins, including those of an early-14th-century church.
Also in the south, near Tasermiut glacier and fjord and the town of Nanortalik (see above, under "Glaciers"), the uninhabited islet of Uunartoq is home to a trio of natural hot springs - which are the only ones of the thousands in Greenland both hot enough to bathe in (122-140 degrees Fahrenheit) and easily accessible for bathing. It´s a surreal experience for sure to gently poach amid the frosty temperatures and inspiring scenery of Arcitc peaks.
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On my list!!