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Wonders of Greenland book here
8 Days
Getting to know southern Greenland means going beyond the Arctic frontier: a world which until now has been the home of the Inuit people, and which still holds on to the flavour of their traditional lifestyle and of the battle by human beings to adapt to a hostile environment marked by ice and a harsh climate.
 Southern Greenland offers the traveller the impact of a sea covered in icebergs and the awe-inspiring beauty of the glaciers overflowing into the tranquillity of the fjords. The landscape, with its intense green colours and leafy tundra and its colourful settlements, also provides character to this trip that makes the Arctic reachable for any adventure-minded traveller.
On our route, we will be able to navigate through the fjords among blue-tinged icebergs and alongside spectacular glacier tongues. We will sleep in a camp located in a privileged setting, right next to a glacier. We will also have the opportunity to visit one of Inlandis’s glaciers, and cover a small part of its immensity, among its rimayas (crevasses), large cracks and drains.
We will also be able to take spectacular treks through the tundra and in the glacier valleys, see herds of caribou and marine fauna, fish for Arctic salmon and codfish, or gather mushrooms and cranberries.
DAILY ITINERARY
Day 1: Brattahlid
Flight Reykjavik - Narsarsuaq.
Reception in the airport and transfer in motorboat through the Tunulliarfik Fjord, usually covered by icebergs, to Qassiarsuk. Visit to the church ruins and the settlement of Eric the Red comprising the old Brattahlid, capital of Viking Greenland, and where Eric the Red settled in 985 at the start of the colonisation of the Vikings.
Walk through the town of about 100 inhabitants, mostly farmers. Lodging in the Leif Eriksson Hostel in Qassiarsuk. Dinner in the hostel.
Day 2: Qaleraliq camp
We will set off for Qaleraliq camp, navigating along Tunulliarfik fjord among numerous icebergs. We will stop at Narsaq to visit the third most populated town in South Greenland, with about 1700 inhabitants. You will have free time to visit the local market, fur shops… and go for a walk or do some shopping, before boarding the boat again to navigate towards the Inlandis. We will arrive to a cosy, enchanting camp set on a sandy beach, which contrasts with a spectacular view of two glacier fronts from Qaleraliq’s glacier.
We will spend the night at the camp, allowing our senses to enjoy the unbelievable views and the thunderclap roar of the icefall from seracs.
Day 3: Ice Cap view
Ascent to the base of Tasersuatsiaq great lake and panoramic view of the Inlandis. Ascent on foot through a unique desert-like sand valley which will lead us to a surprisingly different landscape, that of the green and thick tundra. After passing the lake, we will climb up a mountain 400 metres high, from which we will have a mesmerising view of the lake, one of the largest in Southern Greenland. The summit is also a very special viewing point of the Inlandis, the immense inland glacier. From there you can gaze upon the infinite ice sheet up to the north coast of the island and towards the Arctic Ocean, and see the Nunataks, floating landmarks on the ice sheet. We may pick mushrooms and blueberries, and look for caribou, which are plentiful in the area. Descent to the camp.
Day 4: Glacier fronts and excursion on ice.
We will navigate along the glacier fronts on a zodiac boat, admiring the beauty of their vertical ice walls and numerous icebergs as we approach them along their more than 10 kilometres descent to the sea. From there we will start the ice excursion. An impressive trek using crampons (organised to be suitable for all travellers) on one of the oldest masses of ice in the planet. We will explore its crevasses, drains, caves, seracs, and other ice formations, which give an incredible, labyrhyntine quality to this glacier.
An expert mountain guide, a specialist in Glacier Science, will be in charge to make sure we are provided with the appropriate equipment, and to ensure the safety of the group during the trip, while he shares with us his knowledge about the special characteristics of the glaciers in the South of Greenland. A unique experience, exciting and original, surprising both first-time comers and those used to the peculiarities of the glacier world. One of the most impressive sights and one of the best excursions in all Greenland.
Day 5: Igaliko
Navigation from Qaleraliq to Itilleq via the Tunulliarfik fjord. Easy hike to cross the Kongevejen, or Path of the Kings, to the idyllic Igaliko, a small Eskimo settlement inhabited by not quite 40 people, which is famous for being the most beautiful settlement in the whole Greenland, and where one finds the ruins of Gardar, the archdiocese and religious capital of Viking Greenland.
After eating in Igaliko, return in the afternoon to Itilleq, and then to Qassiarsuk.
On the road to Qassiarsuk, we will visit the Qooroq Fjord, where one of the most active glaciers in southern Greenland can be found, navigating to the area where iceberg density will make it impossible to carry on, and which is without doubt one of Greenland’s best images.
Dinner and night in the Leif Eriksson Hostel.
Day 6: Tasiusaq and Sermilik
Walk to Tasiusaq farm, where seven people live in notable isolation next to Sermilik fjord, which is almost always blocked by the ice from icebergs coming from Eqaloruutsit glacier. Later we will go arctic salmon fishing and for a walk in the region. Possibility to arrange, in situ, a Kayak excursion in the “Bay of Icebergs”. Night at the Leif Eriksson Hostel.
Day 7: Flower Valley
We will cross to Narsarsuaq on a motorboat. Then, we will walk through Flower Valley enjoying the spectacular view of a valley formed due to the retreat and the consequent glacial sedimentation with plenty of flowers. We will walk until we can see Kiattut glacier and the landscape around it, with superb panoramic view of the ice sheet and its Nunataks. This is probably the most renowned excursion in all Greenland. Farewell dinner, with typical Eskimo products, whale, seal, caribou, mattak… and night at the Leif Eriksson Hostel.
Day 8
Transfer Qassiarsuk-Narsarsuaq on a zodiac boat. Free time to visit Narsarsuaq. Flight Narsarsuaq-Reykjavik
Reservations:
booking@tasermiut.com
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