Greenland is a North American island and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. The citizens of Greenland have the status of full citizens of Denmark. Greenland is the world’s largest non-continental island between the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans on the eastern side of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Nuuk is the capital city of Greenland and it is also the largest city. However, Greenland falls under the European Union as the Overseas territory and country; the citizens are the European Union citizens. 

Further, Greenland contains breathtaking landscapes and unique culture which attracts millions of tourists each year. From 2015 to 2019, tourism significantly increased and it is estimated that the revenue generated through tourism in 2019 was about US $67 million. Here we have the details about the most famous places of Greenland which one must visit while planning a trip to Greenland. 

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Top 13 Places to Explore In Greenland

The following are the top 13 places to explore in Greenland;

• Ilulissat Icefjord and Sermeq Kujalleq
• Greenland National Museum and Archives
• Nuuk
• Nuuk Water Taxi
• Prince Christian Sound
• Disko Island
• Hvalsey Church Ruin
• Eqip Sermia Glacier
• Qoornoq
• Quassussuaq Mountain Hike

1) Ilulissat Icefjord and Sermeq Kujalleq

A fjord is a long, narrow sea inlet with steep sides or cliffs created by the glaciers. Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord is a fjord of the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier which is one of the most fastest and active glaciers in the world. Greenland’s Ilulissat Icefjord is a tidal fjord covered with floating brash and massive ice. It was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2004. 

Sermeq Kujalleq is one of the few glaciers through which the Greenland ice cap reaches the world sea. The sole remnant of the Quaternary Ice Age continental ice sheets is still present in the northern hemisphere, i.e. the Greenland ice cap. The ice is estimated back to be 250,000 years old. It also provides a piece of very detailed information on the past climate changes from the year 250,000 to 11,550 years ago. Ilulissat provides easy access to visitors and scientists to closely view the calving glacier front as it falls into the ice-choked fjord from the ice sheet.

2) Greenland National Museum and Archives

The Greenland National Museum is one of the first and oldest museums established in Greenland. It was commenced in the middle of the 1960s. The museum has many artifacts related to arts, history, and brief details about the archaeological sites. 

The first exhibition was conducted in 1965 in Greenland’s Moravian Brethren Mission House. In 1970, the museum was moved to Nuuk’s old colonial harbor due to expansion. In 1991, the National Museum and National Archives were renamed as Greenland National Museum & Archives. Among the artifacts, the biggest artifact in the museum is the Qilakitsoq Mummies. These are the mummies of 3 women and the 6-month-old child.  

3) Nuuk

Nuuk is the capital of Greenland with an area of 49 square kilometers at an elevation of 5 meters above sea level. Being the most populated city of Greenland with a population of approximately 20,000 people is also the country’s largest cultural center. Katuaq is a national cultural center used for exhibitions, films, theatre, and concerts. It was built in 1997. The complex also contains a school, library, and café. The Nuuk Art Museum contains private arts and crafts with a notable collection of paintings, watercolors, and drawings made by local artists.

Nuuk can be accessed by all 3 means of transportation, it has an airport containing flights with Iceland and Canada. It has its sea port which connects it with Denmark during the warmer months. The Nuuk city has a great network of roads in it. Nuuk also has the most number of vehicles in all of Greenland.

The University of Greenland is the only university in Greenland founded in 1987. Nuuk also has a central hospital named Queen Ingrid’s Hospital. Greenland electricity is supplied by Nukissiorfiit company, and the major source of electricity generation is the hydroelectric power plant. The climate of the Nuuk is Tundra climate with cold long snowy winters, a little milder than Alaska or Eastern Siberia. The maximum temperature raised in history was 26.3 degrees centigrade, and the minimum temperature fell to -32.5 degrees centigrade.

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4) Nuuk Water Taxi

Nuuk Water Taxi is a company that specializes in smaller group tours by boat. On a single tour, they can accommodate up to 54 passengers. The company has expanded with kayaks and stand-up paddleboards to offer a very unique experience of paddle boarding amongst icebergs or simply kayaking by Nuuk. They also have several Targas that are heated cabin boats with large walk-around decks, ensuring all passengers’ comfort along with great views in tours.

Captains and guides are all locals providing customers with great service and extensive knowledge of the natural and cultural history of the area. The company had a great journey. It started with a one-man company to a public company with a large fleet. 

In 2012, Mr.Espen Andersen the founding father of Ilulissat Water Taxi. It was his idea to offer exclusive, and flexible boat tours to the people of the Ilulissat area. We wish to focus on developing Nuuk Water Taxi. In 2020 Nuuk Water Taxi A/S was completed. Boats numbered 5 and 6 were purchased to support the demand in Nuuk and the company became a public company.

5) Prince Christian Sound

The Prince Christian Sound is a waterway in Southern Greenland. It links the Irminger Sea with the Labrador Sea. It is almost 100 km long and very narrow, sometimes only 500 meters wide. The extensive system of fjords is enclosed by generally high mountains rising to heights over 1,200 meters. One of them measures 2,220 meters. Many glaciers go straight into its waters which results in the creation of icebergs.

A weather station was founded there by the United States during the Second World War under the name Blue East One. The weather station was responsible for providing accurate weather data to the maritime industry in Cape Farewell, Greenland. The majestic beauty of Prince Christian Sound attracts tourists and summer cruise ships, like the 86,700-ton weight and the 137,000-ton traveler of the seas. The large amount of icebergs forces ships to move slowly.

6) Disko Island

The Greenlandic name for the island is Qeqertarsuaq, which means “The Large Island”. The length of the island is 160 kilometers, and it reaches an average height of 975 meters and a peak of 1,919 meters. In the northeast, the Sullorsuaq Strait splits the island from the Nuussuaq Peninsula. On the island’s southern coast is the port of Qeqertarsuaq, also called Godhavn. The first known visit to Disko Island was made by Erik the Red between 982 and 985. However, Norse colonists used the island as a base for summer fishing and hunting during the summer. 

Fossil finds, mineral deposits, and geological formations stimulate interest in the area. The island has unique geographical features, including local iron deposits. A massive combination of iron and iron carbide (cohenite) weighing 22 tons (44,000 pounds; 20 tonnes) has been identified. 

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7) Hvalsey Church Ruin

Hvalsey Church was a Catholic church located in the uninhabited Greenlandic Norse village of Hvalsey, presently known as Qaqortoq. The construction of the church started in Greenland in AD 1000 when Christianity made its way there. Hvalsey Church is believed to have been constructed in the early 14th century. The church contains the best-preserved Norse ruins in Greenland and was the site of a wedding in September 1408. 

The church is located roughly 70 meters (230 feet) from the water at Hvalsey, which is positioned on a thin strip of flat land at the head of a fjord. The church and numerous other buildings in the vicinity are situated in a traditional Greenlandic Norse farmstead. The farmstead had a sizable structure that was about 1,300 m2 (14,000 sq ft). The structure contained eleven rooms that included living quarters, a banqueting hall of 8 by 5 meters (26 by 16 feet), and cattle confinement. However, the church is the last known evidence of Greenlandic Norse culture.

8) Eqip Sermia Glacier

Eqip Sermia Glacier is situated East of Disko Island, North of Nuuk, and to the Southwest of Greenland. Eqi Glacier is also known as the calving glacier since while visiting you may expect to observe little and huge pieces of ice breaking off the five-kilometer-wide glacier.

Eqi Glacier offers a unique opportunity to see an active glacier. It consistently breaks off huge and small pieces of ice.  The glacier is situated 80 kilometers north of Ilulissat and is only accessible via boat. The boat voyage is amazing in and of itself, taking visitors through the settlement of Oqaatsut and deeper into the northern region of Disco Bay. If you stay a night at Glacier Camp Eqi, you will have many trekking opportunities in the surrounding area.

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9) Qoornoq

Qoornoq is an unpopulated fishing village in the Sermersooq municipality in southwestern Greenland. It is situated on the northeast of Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. Qoornoq also had a railway that supplied fish. When the railway was functioning in the 1950s, flat vehicles loaded with fish were driven by a small diesel-hydraulic locomotive. The line was closed just before the final resident of the town left.

There are still archeological remains of old Norse and Inuit structures there. When the site was excavated in 1952, ancient tools and traces of an ancient Norse farm were found. The farm’s exterior walls are double patterned and include many Inuit residences. The only remaining inhabitant departed in 1972. Heirs of former residents frequently arrive at their homes by boat over the summer months.

10) Quassussuaq Mountain Hike

Quassussuaq is located approximately 2 km away from the airport in Nuuk, in the southwest of Greenland. Quassussuaq is an easily accessible mountain peak of 1380 feet long on the fringes of Nuuk.  It is the smaller of the two mountain peaks rising above the city and is more commonly called by its Danish name, Lille Malene (Little Malene).

In winter, visitors can enjoy the two great slopes for expert skiers and three pom-style lifts for skiing at Nuuk’s Sisorarfiit ski resort. In addition, cross-country skiing,  snowmobiling, and snowshoeing are highly popular in Quassussuaq. On weekends, locals are almost constantly either traveling around it or exploring further into the countryside. However, you can plan your trip to Quassussuaq this winter and enjoy all these activities. 

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Conclusion

In conclusion, the beautiful places in Greenland make them the desired destination for tourists. From the colorful and vibrant Nuuk and Illulissat to places like Qornooq where no one is inhabited at the current time, every place offers something unique and historic. If you want to discover the Northern lights and the beauty of Greenland, take guidance from this blog and make your plan about which places you will visit during the trip to Greenland. 

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