Trip Report: Endless Ice, Incredible Nature, & Traditions in Qaqortoq, Greenland
Whew! In the 6 days since I’ve been back from Greenland, I moved all my stuff from Austin to Dallas, unpacked, and am now getting ready to head to Mexico City tomorrow for Round Two.
As soon as I arrived to Greenland, I sensed it’s a special and magical place on Earth. And immediately knew I had to go back.
Because it’s the largest island in the world that’s not a continent. The stats are vast. Greenland:
Is 21 times the size of Iceland
Has an ice sheet three times larger than the size of Texas
Is covered in 80% ice, which is over a mile thick in some spots
Has over 27,000 miles of coastline (!!!)
And yet, only 56,000 people live there. At this scale, it would take years to explore the entire country. Though I saw the tiniest sliver, it’s an incredible and challenging environment to explore.
I dare say it’s the most remote place I’ve ever visited.
Yours truly became an Arctic explorer at the base of the massive Greenland ice sheet
Here’s a glimpse of my time there.
Visit Greenland 2019 – Holy wow
Greenland is one of those places that isn’t on the way to anywhere. Plenty of travelers fly over it all the time, but to visit Greenland requires a concentrated effort.
Getting to Qaqortoq
You can fly there from Iceland or Denmark. I flew on Air Iceland from the Reykjavik city airport (which is different from Keflavik – it’s in the city of Reykjavik and much smaller).
My chariot to Narsarsuaq
We wanted to visit Qaqortoq, a town of ~3,000 people, located in Southwest Greenland.
Location of Qaqortoq
But there’s only one airport in that area, in Narsarsuaq, a settlement of ~150 people. Yup, you have to fly to a settlement of 150 people and then take a boat to the town of 3,000 people.
Seems counterintuitive, but you fly to the outpost to visit the largest town in Southwest Greenland
We learned there will be a brand new airport in Qaqortoq by 2024 – which is exciting news for the area. And that’ll be a big upgrade, because it took an hour and 45 minutes on a little boat to get to Qaqortoq (with a stop in Narsaq).
The flight from RVK was a bit over 2 hours. And that’s after you get to the Reykjavik city airport from Keflavik, which takes about an hour.
Even more restrictive is there are only 2 flights per week from Reykjavik to Narsarsuaq, so the timing has to be impeccable – and that’s of course if there are no delays. So you are very much at the mercy of the flight schedule and can’t be flexible with dates.
Larger towns, like Nuuk, have daily flights, which isn’t as much of an issue. But we had to get the timing absolutely right, and padded in a day on either side in case of delays getting into or out of Iceland.
Whether you fly from Iceland or Denmark, I’d recommend giving yourself at least at day to connect. Because any delay could put your connection at risk. And with limited schedules, you won’t wanna miss the only flight of the day (or week!).
Adventures around Qaqortoq
So getting there was a bit harrowing. But I found my zen and gave myself over to the experience of traveling to an extremely remote destination. Once we landed in Greenland, the magnitude of the peace there washed over me. And the beauty begins well before you land.
Stunning views on the descent into Greenland – get a window seat!
The weather was bright and “warm” – around 60 degrees during the day and 50s at night. This is because, in summer, the sun barely sets. Instead, it gets a bit less bright for a few hours and the sun rises all over again. So there’s not a chance to cool down in the evening with sunlight a near-constant factor.
In the winter, though, Greenland gets wicked cold, especially in the North where it’s above the Arctic Circle.
Once there, we set about exploring around the system of long finger-like fjords via boat. And though we only went 20 to 40 miles at a time, it takes a couple of hours to get anywhere. For round-trips of 4+ hours, it actually takes longer to get to and from a place than the time you spend there.
And you must take a boat or helicopter everywhere you go – there are no roads connecting the towns in Greenland. It’s physically impossible because of the ice sheet and extremely rugged terrain.
Staying in Qaqortoq
So there’s actually a 4-star hotel in Qaqortoq… called Hotel Qaqortoq.
It’s actually really nice! They have fast wifi, two on-site restaurants, breakfast in the morning, and house-brewed beers. By all accounts, it’s a clean and modern hotel walking distance to everything.
Not that the town is that big. There’s only one other restaurant, no coffee shops, and the only shopping is at the tourist office. Surprisingly, there are three grocery stores in town, including one with a big floor for clothes and home goods. I was impressed with the selection.
As an autonomous country still under Denmark’s rule, the selection is very Danish (and all prices are in Danish kronur). I learned they adore the King and Queen of Denmark (and keep up closely with the royal family).
Our room at the Hotel Qaqortoq – notice all the sealskin
There’s also a fur outlet in town where you can by seal and sheep products of all kinds. Hunting seal is very much alive here. They eat it and use the skin for all sorts of products. Our hotel room had sealskin blankets and throw pillows, and the hotel had fur-lined chairs and couches. Sealskin is everywhere – in the clothes, accessories, furnishings…
It’s an Inuit tradition. And the Greenlanders very much want to keep their national history alive.
Isn’t Qaqortoq so cute and idyllic?
We hit a patch of resplendent weather. While it rained here and there, we got huge gaps of sunshine and clear weather. And the sunsets were incredible!
Qaqortoq is an adorable maritime town
Our days were packed with things to do. Thankfully, the daylight hours were long.
Kaffemik
We arranged to have coffee and cakes at a local home. We arrived to our host, Sofia, with a translator, David, to partake in kaffemik, which translates to “get me a coffee!” from Danish and is a celebration gathering for any type of good news. It’s when you open your house and invite lots of people over to have a good time.
Traditionally, you’re served coffee, tea, and cakes, and just enjoy hanging out. Which is awesome!
We set up our kaffemik through the tourist office. And were graciously welcomed into a beautiful home in the center of town, full of old photos and artifacts.
At kaffemik with Sofia and David
I love her hands
Homemade orange cake
We talked about the Arctic, the future of Greenland, and modern Inuit life. Our host – and all the Greenlanders we met – were completely gracious.
It was an honor to participate in a local tradition!
Greenlandic ice sheet
All of Greenland’s towns and settlements are situated along the cost, because the interior is uninhabitable. When you visit, you simply must check out the Greenland ice sheet – it’s hard to miss. Along the way, you’ll see huge icebergs calved from the continental glacier.
It’s a humbling experience because the Greenland ice sheet is rapidly melting, There are more icebergs now than ever. Hearing our guide talk about how quickly the ice is receding was a bit of a shock. And while we only saw the tiniest portion, the scale of this change is mind-blowing.
To get there, we took a boat and hiked about an hour to the base.
Gorgeous landscapes along the fjord
Greenland doesn’t have nearly as many waterfalls as Iceland – and it’s not volcanic. The waterfalls we saw were a function of the melting ice sheet draining into the Atlantic. You can clearly see lighter rock right against darker rock where the ice sheet has receded in the past few years. Considering the rock under the ice sheet is between 1.5 and 3 billion years old, it’s literally untouched by humanity.
Seeing the changes written in the landscape is startling. It’s rugged and huge and the nature here is responding powerfully to the environmental effects.
At the base of the Greenland ice sheet
The ice sheet looks like a mountain from a distance – a gigantic mountain. And the water near it is the most beautiful blue-green color from all the minerals running into the water.
A look inside an ice cave
The melting ice forms a network of ice caves that regularly collapse under their own weight. But while they’re intact, they create the most brilliant shades of blue.
Just a few iceberg friends. They come in all sorts of interesting shapes and colors
And of course, being so close to the action, you get plenty of close-up views of iceberg friends. I imagine living here and watching them float in and out is such a meditative practice.
Uunartoq hot spring
Two hours by boat from Qaqortoq, you’ll find the Uunartoq hot spring nestled on its own island (!).
How cool is that
It’s the only hot spring in Greenland, and forms two small round pools constantly heated to bathwater temperature year-round.
You get stunning 360 views and a bay full of icebergs
The reason for this hot spring is a mystery as there are no tectonic plates here, or anything else that would seemingly cause it. In the 1500s, it was the best Viking spa in town! 
