Greenland's Far North in Luxury

Your package includes a flight from London or Newark to Kangerlussuaq. You can arrive in London or Newark on day 1 and make your way to the hotel for an included overnight stay. The following morning you will transfer to the airport for your flight. Upon arrival in Kangerlussuaq you will transfer to the port to board your luxury expedition vessel.

Kangerlussuaq is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name (Danish: Søndre Strømfjord). It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport. The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and Sondrestrom Air Base. The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen, caribou, and gyrfalcons. The settlement's economy and population of 512 is almost entirely reliant on the airport and tourist industry.

Kangaamiut (the People of the Fjords) is a settlement which clings to the shoreline of Greenland's Arctic Circle region, backed by some of the country's most spectacular fjordlands. The nearby pinnacle-shaped mountains gave the Danish-Norwegian colonial settlement its original name of Sukkertoppen (Sugarloaf) and the town recently celebrated its 250th anniversary. Here, one can experience small-town Greenlandic culture at its most authentic. The town is scattered across a small hill, displaying all the colourful buildings of the town at once; it is impossible to take a bad photo here. A system of staircases and boardwalks leads to the top of the hill, an area used to helicopter transport which offers jaw-dropping vistas of the wilderness around the settlement. The locals are proud of their Inuit history and culture, and the people of Kangaamiut are friendly and welcoming to vistors. Depending on the day, one could see local men selling fresh fish or reindeer meat from the surrounding fjords or flensing their catch on the rocks of the harbour, local women selling intricate homemade beaded necklaces and carvings, or even be invited into a local home to share a pot of coffee with some of the friendly residents, who are always happy to have visitors. Although the scenery is world-class, as in many towns in Greenland, wonderful memories of the welcoming residents are the most treasured.

Next up is Evighedsfjord (Eternity Fjord), a large fjord northeast of Kangaamiut in southwest Greenland. The fjord has a length of 75 kilometers and several branches with numerous glaciers coming down from the Maniitsoq Ice Cap to the north can be seen. The Evighedsfjord has several bends and whenever the ship reaches the supposed end the fjord continues in another direction and seems to go on forever. Qingua Kujatdleq Glacier is at its southeastern end. At the northwestern end a U-shaped valley has seven glaciers coming down from the mountains but not reaching the water. The glaciers had their maximum extent around the year 1870 and have gone through several cycles of advance and retreat. The mountains on either side of the fjord can reach in excess of 2,000 meters and the fjord has a depth of up to 700 meters. Evighedsfjord’s snowline is at 1,100 meters and the Evighedsfjord region is famous as one of Greenland’s best heli-skiing areas.

Zodiac cruises, hiking and kayaking will be offered throughout the day. You will also have chance to join a Kaffemik in Kangaamiut to meet the lcoals and learn all about the way of life here.

In the bustling capital city of Greenland, you could be forgiven for forgetting you are in such a vast and isolated country. Nuuk is Greenland's economic and social hub, home to more than a third of Greenland's population, and although it feels like a world capital, scratch the surface, and a uniquely Greenlandic character can be found underneath. Nuuk Cathedral overlooks the gorgeous old Colonial Harbour district and the Greenland National Museum, resting place of the legendary Qilakitsoq mummies, the true highlight of the museum's archaeological collection. Above the Colonial Harbour sits downtown Nuuk, with lines of Scandistyle apartments, a bustling shopping district, the Greenlandic Parliament, Nuuk City Hall (which welcomes visitors to see its artwork) and even outdoor cafes selling locally produced food and beer. These nods to modernity compete for space with local artisan boutiques, the meat market selling the catch from Nuuk's vast fjord-lands, and the stunning Katuaq Cultural Centre, where blockbuster movies, as well as local and foreign performers entertain the people of Nuuk. Although Nuuk has long been a melting pot of Danish and Greenlandic ideas, this is a city where Greenland displays its sophistication, with the Country's only traffic lights, roundabouts and University. Most of all, expect to find a multitude of friendly people who are proud of who they are, and equally proud of the city they call home.

Excursions today include a Nuuk Cultural Historical Walk, hiking and museum visits.

Sisimiut ('The People of the Fox Holes') is Greenland's second city, the largest Arctic City in North America, and a hub between the warmer South and the frozen North of the country. With a young, dynamic population, including students from all over the country, Sisimiut is one of the fastest growing cities in Greenland. Inhabited for more than four and a half thousand years, the Danish Colonial Era saw the rapid development of the city into a trade centre, and the old buildings and artefacts can be seen at Sisimiut Museum, a collection of beautifully restored buildings displaying everything from ancient turf houses to modern Inuit art. The local artisans are considered some of the best in Greenland, and often sell their wares direct from their communal workshop in the harbour, where they barter with hunters for raw materials. Today, modern industry focussed on processing sea food and shipping; KNI, the state-run chain of general stores operating in even the most remote settlements is based in Sisimiut. Most residents still live in the colourful wooden houses Greenland is so well known for. Sisimiut's vast back country offers excellent opportunities for hiking and fishing, and the locals often use sled dogs or snowmobiles to get around their vast mountainous playground during the long winters. In the summer, one can walk as far as Kangerlussuaq International Airport, a trail also used for the gruelling Polar Circle Marathon, one of the toughest endurance events in the world.

Excursions today will include hiking, kayaking and a Sisimiut Town Walk with a Taste of Greenlandic Specialties.

Known as the birthplace of icebergs, the Ilulissat Icefjord produces nearly 20 million tons of ice each day. In fact, the word Ilulissat means “icebergs” in the Kalaallisut language. The town of Ilulissat is known for its long periods of calm and settled weather, but the climate tends to be cold due to its proximity to the fjord. Approximately 4,500 people live in Ilulissat, the third-largest town in Greenland after Nuuk and Sisimiut. Some people here estimate that there are nearly as many sled dogs as human beings living in the town that also boasts a local history museum located in the former home of Greenlandic folk hero and famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen.

Excursions today include an Ilulissat Iceberg Cruise, an Ilulissat Town Walk, hiking and kayaking. Guests can also choose to take a Helicopter Tour for an additional cost.

Fjords were carved by glaciers and Uummannaq Fjord must have been carved by an enormous one in the past. This fjord is about 160 km (100 miles) long and 24–48 km (15–30 miles) wide as it extends eastward to the Greenland ice cap. The main fjord divides into several smaller fjords also fed by glaciers. Store Glacier, or Great Qarajaq, is one of the world’s fastest moving at 5.7 km (3.5 miles) a year. It sheds icebergs that float, melt, develop strange shapes and pose for photographers. Sheltered conditions at Uummannaq Fjord suited people. First the Saqqaq culture inhabited the area between 2500 BCE and 800 BCE and then the Inuit. A famous mummy of a 6-month-old boy is now displayed at Nuuk museum. Found at Qilakitsoq within the fjord, the boy has been preserved in remarkable condition by cold dry air for 500 years. Today Inuit live in eight colourful settlements in the fjord, with Ummannanaq having the most people and facilities. Hunting, fishing and many other cultural traditions continue to be important for the communities. Wildlife in the fjord thrives during the long summer days. You will probably see whales at some stage with Fin, Humpback and Minke Whales the most common. Ashore, Arctic Foxes lose their white winter fur and grow a brown coat for summer. Arctic Hares however keep their white coats all year round in this area. Remote parts of the fjord have Musk Oxen. Northern Fulmars are common seabirds and Black Guillemots, Iceland Gulls and Glaucous Gulls often fill the binocular views.

This far into North Greenland, ice is a feature of every landscape. Flowing between two island chains in the in the maze of fjords which make up the vast Upernavik Archipelago, the seventy kilometre Upernavik Fjord stretches from the open waters of Baffin Bay right to the Greenland Ice Sheet itself. Less well known than the Ilulissat Icefjord to the South, Upernavik Fjord is no less spectacular. The Greenland Ice Sheet tumbles relentlessly into the fjord, which is over a kilometer deep in parts, and the vast icebergs calved from the Upernavik Glacier have to be seen to be believed. Some are as large as entire city blocks (including the height), and icebergs of this size can last in the frigid North Atlantic for years, often arriving in Newfoundland in Canada or even further afield; some Greenlandic icebergs have been sighted as far south as the Azores, and upon seeing these sleeping giants first hand, it is easy to see why. Sailing among these colossal icebergs is the only way to appreciate the ocean carved beauty and silent power of Northern Greenland's pristine wilderness. Hearing the ocean lap at the foot of an iceberg or seeing the spectacle of an iceberg calving and rolling over can be experienced like this nowhere else in the Arctic. Being in such vast and breathtaking beauty, can truly make one feel insignificant, and it is easy to see why the Inuit in the area believed themselves to be the only humans on Earth.

Upernavik, home to around one thousand people, sits on a low island in an iceberg jewelled sea, surrounded by sea ice for much of the year. The hub for the many small villages in the area, Upernavik is surprisingly cosmopolitan, proudly the northernmost true town in Greenland. A runic inscription dated to around 1300 was found outside the town in the 1850s, marking the northern limit of Norse exploration in Greenland. But the Inuit history of the area goes back far longer, with waves of Palaeo-Inuit settlers from Canada inhabiting the prey-rich area for almost five thousand years, and inhabited by the modern Thule Inuit (ancestors of modern Greenlanders) continuously for the last nine hundred years. Upernavik is a city at peace with it's wealth of history. Founded in 1772, the town is one of the oldest in Greenland, and the excellent local museum proudly displays a stunning collection of artefacts and artwork from all over Northwestern Greenland in several period buildings, including the Old Church. Nearby is the larger New Church, a constant hub for the local community; weddings, christenings and confirmations are commonly an excuse for the whole town to celebrate and wear their intricate national costumes. With the only airport in the area, Upernavik is also a commercial centre for North Greenland, with fresh food and mail going North, while fish and furs are exported South, and the local artisans are among the best in Greenland, proudly displaying their work to visitors.

Visit the arctic seascape of Cape York, Greenland. Located on the northwestern coast of Greenland in Baffin Bay, Cape York is an important geographical feature delimiting the Melville Bay at its northwestern end and Kiatassuaq Island at its other end. There is a chain of coastal islands that stretches between the two capes, most notably Meteorite Island, named for the discovery one of the world’s largest iron meteorites in Savissivik, a settlement on the island. The iron from this meteorite attracted Inuit migrating from Arctic Canada who used the metal in making tools and harpoons. Visitors to this region will see iconic drifting blue-white icebergs that are shrinking as the earth temperature rises.

Located in northern Baffin Island Pond Inlet is a small predominantly Inuit community with a population of roughly 1 ,500 inhabitants. In 1818 the British explorer John Ross named a bay in the vicinity after the English astronomer John Pond. Today Pond Inlet is considered one of Canada's "jewels of the North" thanks to several picturesque glaciers and mountain ranges nearby. Many archaeological sites of ancient Dorset and Thule peoples can be found near Pond Inlet. The Inuit hunted caribou, ringed and harp seals, fish, polar bears, and walrus, as well as narwhals, geese, ptarmigans and Arctic hares long before European and American whalers came here to harvest bowhead whales. Pond Inlet is also known as a major center of Inuit art especially the printmaking and stone carving.

Upon arrival in Pond Inlet you will disembarl and join your flight to Ottawa where you can check in to the hotel for your included overnight stay. The following morning signals the end of your itinerary.