Icebergs are calved out of glaciers and each one is unique; a work of art fashioned by the hand of nature. Here are five adventures that will help you get the best of your ice experience in North Greenland.
“Ilulissat” is the Greenlandic world for icebergs, no wonder the town was named this way when you know that Sermeq Kujalleq calves off about 35 billion tonnes of ice every year. The town is situated at the mouth of the Kangia ice-fjord, and as of 2004 this area is a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is to say how ice and icebergs are part of the town´s life. take a walk and enjoy the thrill and chill of the ice fjord.
On a boat or a kayak, day and night, you can sail among an incredible amount of icebergs. Icebergs are the ice sheet’s unique masterpieces and they come in all imaginable shapes and sizes, and the colours shimmer from white to blue, some with greenish, yellowish and reddish shades depending on the light that hits them. If you are lucky, you might even combine three of our Big Arctic Five: Pioneering People, Ice and Whales.
"Sermeq Kujalleq calves off about 35 billion tonnes of ice every year."
Continues further down the page...
Even if we tell you about the 35 billion tonnes of ice that ends in the fjord each year, you will only get a sense of the potential size of that amount when taking a flight over the Kangia Icefjord. The flight can be done with a helicopter ride or a small fixed-wings plane. The flight will take you over the city and on along the ice fjord towards a viewpoint on the northern bank.
The Eqi glacier, located in Disko Bay, only 70 km north of Ilulissat, is one of those very active glaciers in Greenland. The crashes, sounds and sight of icebergs falling into the water are impressive. All this can be experienced effortlessly from the terrasse of one of the huts while sipping your coffee.
If you are a bit more adventurous, from the glacier lodge grounds, the surroundings offer many hiking opportunities and unique view over the Eqip Sermia. If you want to get a deeper sense of the dynamics and powers of the ice and push the adventure scale a bit further you can try a night on the ice cap.
After a few kilometres of hiking you’ll find yourself in a world of waterfalls, lakes and rivers of melted ice that gush into wells and disappear into the Ice Sheet. Here you set up camp and hear the meltwater roar under the ice. You can also go for a late evening walk on the undulating Ice Sheet and see the midnight sun on the horizon.
On the southern part of Disko Island you will find Qeqertarsuaq. As something quite unique in Greenland, until mid-July, it is possible to go midnight sun dog sledding on the Lyngmarksbræen glacier thus combining two of the most unique adventures usually possible only at two different times of the year.
