The National Park

There are no forms of commercial accommodation in the National Park. Tenting is allowed – however it is not permitted to camp near the natural breeding, foraging, moulting, or resting sites of mammals and birds. A permit to enter the National Park from the Greenland Government is furthermore needed.

The Northeast Greenland National Park is famous for its serenity and pristine natural beauty with unique geology, landscape, and wildlife. People who visit the National Park, seek to experience the silence and unspoiled scenery and to get a glimpse of what a true Arctic wilderness looks like when unaffected by humans. A visit to the National Park also gives the sense of exploration, as only very few people get the chance to visit these remote High-Arctic regions.

The area was established as a National Park in 1974 and as UNESCO Man and Biosphere site in 1977. The purpose of the National Park is to preserve the natural state of the landscape, the habitat of plants and animals and historical and archaeological sites – and allow research. It is prohibited to remove or bring out any objects from the park and no hunting or fishing is allowed within the National Park. An exception is the local community of Ittoqqortoormiit south of the borders of the National Park, where hunters can travel into the National Park to hunt for muskoxen or polar bears. However, this has not been practiced for many years. It is furthermore not allowed to use all-terrain motorcycles or any other kind of motorized vehicles on land.

Every year, cruise ships and sailing boats to Ittoqqortoormiit are growing with tourists. They can land in Ittoqqortoormiit and have the opportunity to visit the church and the museum. Also, people can see sled dog feeding by a local, musk ox wool spinning, East Greenlandic national costume display, and folk dance. Upon request, drum dancing is also possible to see and experience.

Archaeology

Although the National Park is (largely) uninhabited by humans today, this has not always been the case. Both Palaeo-Inuit Cultures (Independence I and Dorset, 2,400 to 200 BC) and Neo-Inuit Cultures (Thule Culture, 1300 to 1850 AC) have lived in Northeast Greenland in the past. Due to the cold climate, remains of these past people are extremely well-preserved in the National Park. Tent rings and tools from the Palaeo-Inuit Cultures are openly exposed on top of the soil layer and many places remains, such as turf houses, from the Neo-Inuit Cultures can be found. The enormous size of the area and the logistic challenges of conducting fieldwork in the National Park, means that there are many important archaeological sites that are not discovered or excavated to this date. Visitors to the National Park may compromise these archaeological sites, as it is difficult to detect the remains from the past to the untrained eye. It is therefore crucial that objects from these sites are not relocated or removed.

Sirius Passet in Peary Land is one of the few Cambrian fossil localities with exceptional preservation of soft tissues. Early Cambrian fossils in the site are dated back to approximately 520 million years ago, providing crucial data on the earliest evolution of animals on Earth. Due to its severe remoteness, however, Sirius Passet fossils have remained significantly understudied, harbouring much to be discovered.

The trapper area

From the early 1900’s to 1960s, huntsmen primary originating from Denmark and Norway, inhabited the National Park. These professional hunters and trappers lived in small huts shattered in the large area with the purpose of providing the European market fur from the polar fox and occasionally the polar bear. The huntsmen were brought to specific sites in the National Park by boat with provisions to last several years. Here, they would attend their traps, catch fish, and hunt animals like muskoxen and seals for their meat. It was a challenging, isolated life in the harsh Arctic environment but usually the trappers were able to leave Northeast Greenland with considerate savings when they returned to Europe. There are more than 350 of these trapper huts left in the National Park. A private organisation, “Nanok”, maintains and restores these huts every summer.

There are no towns or settlements within The National Park. The nearest settlement is Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresbysund) south of the National Park.

Very few humans live year-round in the National Park. The military and meteorological stations are manned all year, whereas the research stations mostly are used in late spring, summer, and early autumn.

Research stations:

Zackenberg Research Station is an ecosystem research and monitoring facility at Zackenberg (74º28’ N, 20º34’ W) in Northeast Greenland. The station facilitates High Arctic ecosystem research along with experimental studies enabling predictions of responses to global climate change. The station is located 25 km south-west of Daneborg.

Villum Research Station hosts individual scientific projects focusing on atmospheric, marine and terrestrial research. The station is used as a permanent base for an extensive long-term monitoring program mainly focusing on measuring atmospheric pollution, including the effects of climate change on Arctic marine and terrestrial ecosystems. The station is located close to Station Nord (74º28’ N, 20º34’ W).

The Summit Station is a year-around research station located on the Greenland Ice Sheet, more than 3200 meters above sea level, at 72°34′ N, 38°27 W. The station conducts studies aimed at identifying and understanding long‐range, intercontinental transport and its influences on the ice sheet surface, boundary layer, and overlying atmosphere.

Military stations:

Mestersvig is a military station in the southern part of the National Park at 72°14’N 23°54′ W. It is located at Kong Oscars Fjord and supports The Sirius Patrol and scientific activities. In 1956-1963 a lead-Zink mine was operated at Mestersvig.

Ella Ø is not a station but is situated in the northern part of Kong Oscars Fjord (72°51′ N, 25°00′ W.) and used as a logistic support site for the Sirius Patrol. Furthermore, “Nanok” – the volunteer group who maintain the old hunter cabins, use Ella Ø as “headquarters” during late summer.

Daneborg is located at the mouth of Young Sund at 74°18′ N, 20°13 W. The station is inhabited year around by 12-14 persons, which makes it the most densely populated place in the National Park. Daneborg serves as the headquarters for the Sirius Patrol, which claims Danish sovereignty by patrolling the National Park by dog sled. The members of this elite military unit serve for periods of 26 months. Each spring, six sled teams of two persons and 12 dogs will cover a large part of the coastline in the National Park. These trips occur in some of the most remote and harsh environments on the planet and have a duration of 2-4 months – a power performance by both men and dogs.

Station Nord is situated at the northern part of the National Park (81°36′ N, 16°40′ W.) Station Nord is the northernmost inhabited location in Greenland only 924 km. from the geographical North Pole. The station serves as an emergency landing site for airplanes and as logistic support for the Sirius Patrol.

Meteorological stations:

Danmarkshavn (76°46′ N, 18°40′ W) is a small weather station located in the northern part of Dove Bay. The 6-man staff at the station collects meteorological data, which is used in international weather forecasting models.