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  • A couple overlooking Tasiusaq sheep farm near Qassiarsuk in South Greenland

Qassiarsuk

The settlement is an agricultural destination for hikers and a visible meeting place between Norse culture and modern-day sheep farmers.

A THOUSAND YEARS OF SHEEP FARMING AND AGRICULTURE

One thousand years ago a group of Norsemen, with Eric the Red in the front, sailed into the bay where the settlement Qassiarsuk is located today. According to legend, Eric had such strong emotional ties to the area where he had grown up in Norway that he baptised the place he found, Brattahlíð which means “steep hill”. Before long, he and his companions had established an agricultural community in the fjord.

Farming is still the main occupation in Qassiarsuk and the sheep farmers in the area cultivate the same fields, and let their animals graze in the same river valleys and the same hillsides that the Norsemen used towards the end of the 9th century.

The agriculture of the sheep farms is also about a special feeling of community, and you will experience the strong bonds and the close cooperation between the families living in the settlement and the farms in the countryside.

REMOTE FARMS WITH MODERN CONNECTIONS

Where the gravel roads end around the settlement lie the sheep farms that give new meaning to the word “remote”, and especially in Tasiusaq and Nunataaq, about a day’s hike west of Qassiarsuk, the fields reach down to the edge of the water, in fjords where icebergs from the Ice Cap drift by on their way towards the ocean.

Yet, you will experience that the locals are connected to the internet, watch satellite television and run modern farms adapted for export, send their kids to a well-run school in the settlement and are generally focused on seeing the next generation grow up and get educated, even if this means that the young will have to leave South Greenland for a number of years.

Continues further down the page...

  • Qassiarsuk is a sheep farming settlement founded in 1924 by Otto Frederiksen. Many of his descendants today are among the settlements 50 inhabitants.

  • Eric the Red and his wife Thorhildur settled here in 982 and built the first Christian church on the North American continent.

  • Today Qassiarsuk has a grocery store and a cafe.

  • There is a 120 kilometer gravel road in Qassiarsuk and the surounding hillsides and the area is great for hiking trips.

  • Due to the sheep in the settlement the surrounding area has no mosquitoes.

  • Every year Qassiarsuk hosts the Leif Ericsson Marathon.

Package Tours

Discover The World: South Greenland Explorer

Discover The World

South Greenland Adventure

Experience one of the world's last great wildernesses and discover its vibrant culture and Viking heritage.

FROM £2,034
Blue Ice Explorer – Towns & settlements 8 days

Blue Ice Explorer

Towns & settlements 8 days

Explore the 2 towns of Narsaq and Qaqortoq together with the delightful calmness, warmth and undisturbed paradise of the village of Igaliku.

FROM €953
Grönlandsresor – Horseback riding in South Greenland, 8 days

Grönlandresor

Horseback riding in South Greenland, 8 days

Using Icelandic horses we’ll ride between sheep farms and experience the lush nature of the area around Qassiarsuk.

FROM €2,950
Tasermiut Expeditions: Leif Eriksson Marathon

Tasermiut Expeditions

Leif Eriksson Marathon

8 days trip surrounded by glaciers, ice-walk, viking ruins UNESCO sites, sailing among icebergs and the best marathon.Date: August 14th

FROM €2.095
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THE NORSEMEN IN QASSIARSUK

Qassiarsuk was the stronghold of the Norsemen. It was here they built the first Christian church on the North American continent, and it was from this location that their culture of farming spread to the rest of South Greenland.

Today a statue of Leif Ericsson has been erected on a prominent vantage point in Qassiarsuk keeping watch over both the past and the present. In the Danish language, Leif is better known by his nick names – Leif the Happy, Leif the Lucky, or simply Eric the Red’s son. He is the very first man to sail towards the west arriving in North America at a place he called, Vinland. A feat of that magnitude is not left unnoticed in South Greenland.

Qassiarsuk is the most important of all the Norsemen landmarks in South Greenland because the ruins are still very much part of the present-day landscape, and with the re-construction of Thodhilde’s Christian church and the adjacent long house, you will experience the feel of these historical buildings coming alive in a way that is unique in Greenland.

HIKING AND THE WILDERNESS EXPERIENCE IN QASSIARSUK

Although the actual growth of trees is limited to certain protected fjords, the landscape of South Greenland nevertheless in many ways resembles the fjords of western Norway.

The area around Qassiarsuk has mountain hiking trails as well as a 100 kilometer gravel road that connects the settlement with the surrounding farms of Tasiusaq, Nunataaq, Sillisit, Qorlortoq and Ipiutaq that offer accommodation if you wish to stay overnight on the route.

One of the classic treks in Greenland is the 60 kilometer hike from Qassiarsuk over the mountain to Narsaq. The route changes between easy-to-walk gravel roads, staying overnight at a sheep farm, and trekking over a mountain area with many remnants of the Norsemen.

Where the gravel roads end around the settlement, lie the sheep farms that give new meaning to the word “remote”.

Plan your trip

How to get there

Commercial airlines are the only way for travelers to get to Greenland, served by airports in Denmark and Iceland unless you arrive with a cruise ship.

How to get around

Read about boats, helicopters and planes that tie the country together in a web of sea and air connections operated by both large and small scale operators.

Where to sleep

Read about accommodation possibilities in Greenland - where is it possible to stay for longer or shorter period of time.

When to go

Summer is a season of the midnight sun, while winter is for dog sledding, northern lights, ski trips, and star gazing. Read more.

See plan your trip

Local providers

Sillisit Hostel

Qassiarsuk, Postboks 21
3921,
Phone: (+299) 665 093 & (+299) 497 185More information

Greenland Expeditions By Land And Sea

Nuuk, PO Box 1253
3900,
Phone: +299 54 44 27More information
Inneruulalik guest House 02

Inneruulalik Guest Farm

Qassiarsuk,
3921,
Phone: (+299) 199 214More information
Tasermiut 3

Tasermiut South Greenland Expeditions

Qassiarsuk, B-873 Qassiarsuk
3923,
Phone: (+299) 522 822More information
tasiusaq-mads-pihl

Tasiusaq Hostel

Tasiusaq,
3921,
Phone: (+299) 665 010More information
Leif Eriksson Hostel

The Leif Eriksson Hostel

Qassiarsuk, B-873
3921,
Phone: (+299) 665 010More information
Ipiutaq Guest Farm 10

Ipiutaq Guest Farm

Narsaq, 40 min by boat from Narsarsuaq and Narsaq
3921,
Phone: (+299) 199 222More information
Illunnguujuk Hostel 01

Illunnguujuk Hostel

Qassiarsuk, Postboks 21
3921,
Phone: (+299) 497 185More information
Greenland Sagalands 11

Greenland Sagalands

Qaqortoq, Vatikanbakken 68,
3920,
Phone: (+299) 64 24 44 / 49 37 41More information
Blue Ice Explorer 03

Blue Ice Explorer

Narsarsuaq, Box 58
3923,
Phone: (+299) 665 499 / (+ 299) 497 371More information

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Behind Greenland's largest travel site is the Visit Greenland that is 100% owned by the Government of Greenland, who is responsible for marketing the country's adventures and opportunities for guests wishing to visit the world's largest island

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