Come to Qaanaaq and leave with memories of majestic nature and incredible hospitality from the northernmost town.
ULTIMA THULE
Explorers and poets have long romanticized Qaanaaq as truly the top of the world. Ancient philosophers called it Ultima Thule, or the edge of known territory. Greenlanders called the area Avanersuaq, the great north. Qaanaaq is the extreme north of Greenland, but it is absolutely within reach. For the true explorer – the one that always looks to take a step further and experience what lies beyond – in Greenland your traveling spirit dreams of Qaanaaq.
You don’t have to be an extreme outdoorsman to enjoy Qaanaaq these days, but you do need a certain mentality of openness. Shed your tourist persona somewhere around Ilulissat and head north to a town where the local way is the only way. Here, organically evolving conversations that turn into sailing or dog sledding trips with a local fisherman replace a booklet full of scheduled tours. And fixed regimens give way to a series of days where each afternoon holds a new experience – sometimes a surprise but always an extraordinary adventure.
A LAND FOR PIONEERING PEOPLE
Qaanaaq is a magnet for pioneering people. Just as your inquisitive character leads you to Qaanaaq today, so too did the curious natures of ancient Inuit for more than 4500 years.
Greenlanders in Qaanaaq are crucial to the Inuit identity as powerful and pioneering people, and they are often considered proud to be the real people behind the classic associations like making handicrafts and hunting by kayak or dog sled.
Perhaps your most significant experience in Qaanaaq will be the human connection with Greenlanders, and everyday life and culture in the far north of Greenland has its own distinct rhythm deeply connected to the contrasting seasons of the Polar night and the Midnight Sun.