Trekking in Greenland: In the Land of Tundra and Icebergs

DETAILED ITINERARY:

DAY 1-2
Flight to Greenland with an overnight stay en route.  Arrival in Nuuk, the capital and largest city of Greenland. Walk to the waterfront with traditional 18th-century Danish settler buildings and the well-equipped Greenland National Museum. Trekking outside the city to the beautiful Paradise Valley. Overnight stay in Nuuk.

DAY 3
Flight to Sisimiut, Greenland's second-largest city, located just beyond the Arctic Circle. Sisimiut is the gateway to vast tundra regions, used by Inuit hunting-gathering cultures for thousands of years.

City walk smoothly transitions into a post-glacial valley trek. We'll see the picturesque harbor, first Danish settlers' buildings from the 18th century, apartment blocks with Arctic animal murals, dog town, and a taste of wilderness beyond city limits. Evening option to visit the Shrimp, Chicken, or Ulu (Inuit knife) pub. Overnight in Sisimiut.

Distance: 8 km

Day 4
The area east of Sisimiut is Greenland's largest ice-free terrain. Almost 200 km of tundra, rocky mountains, deep valleys, fish-rich rivers, and deeply cutting fjords separate us from the Greenland ice sheet.

We'll take motorboats 30 km deep into Amerloq fjord, with a high (though not guaranteed) chance of whale watching. The captain will drop us on Utorqait Bay's shore, and we'll trek along the river, through a pass, descending to a wilderness cabin on the fjord's shore, where our main luggage will be transported. Overnight in a well-equipped cabin in the tundra by the fjord.

Distance: 8 km

DAY 5
Full-day trek toward the Qârajugtoq massif. We'll feast our eyes on mosses shimmering in thousands of colors, gather crowberries, and if lucky, encounter reindeer and ptarmigans. We'll follow paths and go off-trail - through tundra, rocky and wetland areas. Return to cabin and optional refreshing swim in the fjord. Overnight in well-equipped cabin in tundra by the fjord.

Distance: 14 km

DAY 6
We leave the cabin and take motorboats to Sarfannguit, an Inuit village. Sarfannguit is primarily inhabited by fishermen and hunters, with its own fish processing plant, shop, football field, cemetery, and church. Meeting with local community, village walks. Return by motorboat through Amerloq fjord to Sisimiut (another chance for whale watching). In Sisimiut, we board a passenger ferry traveling along Greenland's coast, with mostly Greenlandic residents as passengers. We embark on a multi-hour journey north toward the "City of Icebergs," or "Ilulissat" in Greenlandic. Ferry includes guaranteed meals, access to hot shower, bar, and opportunity to play cards with locals. Overnight in ferry cabins.

* Program may change due to ferry schedule modifications.

DAY 7
During the cruise, we can access the deck for nature observation. The ferry stops at small ports where residents come to greet traveling relatives. Late afternoon arrival in Ilulissat, Greenland's third-largest city*. Walk through Ilulissat situated on Disko Bay, part of Baffin Sea. We'll view the first icebergs as seen from his memorial by Knud Rasmussen, a renowned Greenland explorer and ethnographer born in 19th-century Ilulissat. Trek outside town along beautiful Disko Bay coast, where building-high icebergs ground on underwater terminal moraine at Kangia ice fjord mouth (Ilulissat Icefjord, UNESCO), waiting to break into smaller pieces before journeying with ocean currents. Overnight in Ilulissat.

Distance: 6 km

*Program may change due to ferry schedule modifications.

DAY 8
Today we'll boat to the iceberg cluster at Kangia fjord's mouth. The largest icebergs calving from Sermeq Kujalleq glacier can have a volume up to 1.5 cubic kilometers of ice!

In the afternoon, possible visit to the architecturally interesting Icefiord Center. We'll trek on less-frequented paths along the ice-packed Kangia fjord and inland. We'll observe the difference in tundra coverage compared to Sisimiut - sparser vegetation, differently colored mosses. Among stark grey rocks, we'll try to spot Arctic foxes. Overnight in Ilulissat.

Distance: 11 km

DAY 9
The crème de la crème of the region, trekking to Oqaatsut along Disko Bay shore, where icebergs of various shapes and sizes drift after breaking free from Kangia fjord. Some head to open sea, others enter bays and ground in shallows. After 17 km trekking through tundra, ancient bedrock, crossing streams and marshes, we reach Oqaatsut, an Inuit village. Village walks, opportunity to warm up in local café. Return transfer by motorboat to Ilulissat - slalom between icebergs! Overnight in Ilulissat.

Distance: 17 km

DAYS 10-11
Farewell to Greenland, final views of drifting icebergs and Greenland ice sheet cap from airplane windows. Flight  return (Copenhagen or Reykjavik).