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  • Walking towards Igaliku on the kings road in South Greenland. Photo by Mads Pihl

Summer hiking in South Greenland

Standing here in Narsarsuaq airport, the first word that strikes me is ‘grandeur’. I am about to go hiking in this spectacular landscape!

SIMPLY ‘GRANDEUR’

I inhale the fresh air while majestic blue icebergs calve out in the fjord and flowering bluebells illuminate this verdant landscape. As I look over to the other side of the fjord to where Erik the Red had his farm, ‘Brattahlid’, it dawns on me why he called the country Greenland.

AN UNFORGETTABLE HIKING TRIP

My backpack is bursting with provisions for three memorable weeks of hiking here in the summer warmth of southern Greenland.

We’ll be hiking to Qaqortoq and Narsaq before making a loop back to Narsarsuaq. It’s a route that offers impressive landscapes, small but colourful villages with their friendly inhabitants, cheap lamb, and a silence I’ve never before experienced.

Our group is made up of my mother, father, sister, and boyfriend. Along the way we meet a family with a one-year-old daughter and two retired grandparents. Hiking in southern Greenland is for people of all ages, provided that you come here with a passion for adventure and magnificent scenery.

I inhale the fresh air while majestic blue icebergs calve out in the fjord.

Continues further down the page...

Package Tours

Tasermiut Expeditions: Hiking and Kayaking Adventure

Tasermiut Expeditions

Hiking and Kayaking Adventure

8 days trip, kayaking and on foot: complete contact with nature, kayaking and hiking activities, discover Viking ruins in South Greenland.

FROM €2,495
Tasermiut Expeditions: South Greenland Explorer

Tasermiut Expeditions

South Greenland Explorer

Tasermiut fjord Big Walls called "the Arctic Patagonia", hot springs, glacier camp, navigation among icebergs. 15 day trip from June to Sep.

FROM €3,595
Greenland Travel: Arctic Patagonia in Greenland

Greenland Travel

Arctic Patagonia in Greenland

An authentic journey through what’s been called Patagonia of the Arctic, where lush meadows, majestic mountain peaks, and authentic wildlife combine to create an experience.

FROM €5,575
Topas Travel: Spring and the Midnight Sun in Greenland

Topas Travel

Spring and the Midnight Sun in Greenland

Walk on the vast inland ice, spot muskoxen and reindeer in Kangerlussuaq. Sail among giant icebergs, explore the UNESCO Ilulissat Icefjord, admire the Midnight Sun, and savor local delicacies at scenic restaurants.

FROM €2,141
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MECCA FOR LOVERS OF THE OUTDOORS

Southern Greenland is a hiker’s paradise. You’re free to do as you want and any form of civilisation is miles away.
You won’t find signs, markers, or even hiking trails here. You’re like an explorer off the beaten track.

In the evening we fry fish we’ve caught ourselves and flat bread on our camping stove. It never gets dark in Greenland at this time of year, so we’ve left our watches at home. We simply sleep when we’re tired and wake up once our batteries have been recharged. What a feeling of freedom.

During our hike we find edible plants and go fishing in the many rivers that flow through this landscape. I will remember one river particularly well. Lakseelv, which means “salmon river” in English, which is ironically teeming with trout. There were hundreds of fish, and in ten minutes we caught at least ten trout.

KAYAKING CHAMPIONSHIP IN QAQORTOQ

During our trip we pass several Greenlandic settlements where smiles flow freely and where the locals show great curiosity.

Our arrival at Qaqortoq coincides with the Greenland Kayaking Championship, so the town is buzzing. That evening we watch the prizes being awarded and throw coins up into the air together with the locals to wish the winners good luck. Later we’re invited to a party at the hotel as the host’s friends are among the winning kayakers.

The Danish ship that brings supplies to the town hasn’t brought champagne for some while, so we raise a congratulatory toast using white wine instead. There’s also a barbecue with the other guests at the hotel. Two kayakers have caught trout from their kayaks, which are grilled over the barbecue much to everyone’s delight.

  • how to get there

    Get to South Greenland by air or by the water.

  • by plane

    Air Greenland Air Iceland operates seasonal flights to Narsarsuaq, the international airport.

  • the ferry

    Arctic Umiaq Line runs a ferry between Qaqortoq in South Greenland and Sisimiut on the Arctic Circle. Many cruise ships sail the South Greenlandic waters as well.

  • by boat

    Blue Ice Explorer sails between places in Destination South Greenland.

KAFFEMIK – A LAVISH EXPERIENCE

“Do you want to join me for kaffemik?” asks a shepherd when we knock to ask if we can pitch our tents on his sheep field. “Kaffemik” is the Greenlandic version of the Danish “kaffebord”, and can loosely be translated as coffee and cake in English. After several days alone in the wilderness, we suddenly find ourselves sitting bunched together with an entire Greenlandic family enjoying an abundant array of cakes. After days living off campfire food, fish, and herbs from the mountains, we hikers welcome this hospitality and all the cakes.

Greenlandic explorer Knud Rasmussen once said, “No country in the world offers the traveller such a profusion of experiences as Greenland.” Queen Margrethe of Denmark also once said, “No one who knows northern Scandinavia can escape feeling at home.”

And I can only agree. Greenland’s harsh, authentic, and wild nature has also taken me by storm. The feeling of freedom and craving for adventure bubbles within you in this landscape, and after returning home from the trip, I have to say that Greenland has well and truly captivated me. See you soon, Greenland – I promise.

Article by Katrine Dybkjær – Visit Greenland

Explore related articles, offers and tour providers:

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By Visit Greenland

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