Lottie Davis
Greenland
'When you've seen the world there's always Greenland' goes the old travellers' saying. But why wait till then? Greenland is not a cheap destination, but few places combine such magnificent scenery, such clarity of light and such raw power of nature.
Vast swaths of beautiful, unfenced wilderness give adventurers unique freedom to wander at will, whether on foot, by ski or by dogsled. With virtually no roads, transportation is expensive, but splurging on helicopter and boat rides is worth every penny. These whisk you over truly magnificent mountainscapes and glaciers or through some of the planet's most spectacular fjords. Greenland also offers world-beating but charmingly uncommercialised opportunities for sea kayaking, rock climbing and salmon fishing.
The world's biggest non-continental island has the world's sparsest population. Nonetheless, scattered mainly along Greenland's west coast are dozens of photogenic little villages of colourfully painted wooden cottages, plus a few small towns as well as the capital, Nuuk Town (Godthåb). In the south there's an appealing sprinkling of emerald-lawned sheep farms.
Culturally, the unique blend of Inuit and Danish blood has produced a Greenlandic society all of its own. This sometimes discordant mix of ancient and modern combines hunting and dogsledding with Carlsberg and kaffemiks. Sensitive visitors with a passionate but unaggressive interest in local ideas will find a fascinatingly rich culture beneath the thick facade of Greenlandic taciturnity.
With an ever-improving network of tourist offices, hotels and hostels, Greenland is no longer the sole reserve of plutocratic cruise-ship passengers. However you travel, it's wise to schedule a wide safety margin for unpredictable weather. Leave ample time in each destination to unwind, soak up the midnight sun, witness a glacier calving or to be dazzled by the magic of the aurora borealis.
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Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Greenland.
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Ilulissat Kangerlua
The greatest tourist attraction in all of Greenland is the astonishing Ilulissat Kangerlua (Ilulissat Icefjord), a berg-packed bay fed by the 5km (3mi) wide and 1100m (3608ft) thick glacier Sermeq Kujalleq. The glacier flows an average of 25m (82ft) daily and is the world's most prolific outside Antarctica. A Unesco World Heritage site since 2004, the bay's mouth is filled with bergs the size of apartment blocks or whole towns. There's no sight more mesmerising than gazing upon these monsters and listening to the almighty thunderclap roars that they emit when they fissure or explode in the warmth of the summer sun. Best of all the whole spectacle can be seen without the expense and organisation of a boat or helicopter rental that you'll need to see other ice-fjords around Greenland. From November to April Ilulissat is also a possible base for organising dog-sled tours.
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Paamiut Museum
A circle of five historic stone-and-timber buildings around a turf-ringed former wellhouse constitute Paamiut Museum. The 1839 former governor's residence contains the main museum exhibition hall and tourist office. The old trading post has bubble-tar doors, a cooperage and a geological collection upstairs. Downstairs the whaling exhibits include a very rare sealskin diving suit, a reproduction of an original sold in 1913 and now in St Petersburg. Other buildings such as the 1878 goat house have no exhibits, but the Carpenters' House still has the little bell that would ring to announce work availability. The former post office is used by Alcoholics Anonymous.
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Greenland National Museum
The spacious, well-presented Greenland National Museum is based in an extended 1936 warehouse. Its better exhibits include an interesting section on 1950s social change and a geological room emphasising that the world's oldest rocks (3.8 billion years old) come from the Nuuk region. However, the unmissable climax is the mummy room. Here a trio of mummified 15th-century women and a very spooky six-month-old child stare blindly out from their dimly lit display cases. Their fur clothes and kammiks (traditional boots) are intricately sewn and embroidered, but their cause of death remains uncertain. Found at Qilakitsoq near Uummannaq, they made the cover of National Geographic and are an eerily unforgettable sight.
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Emanuel A Petersen Art Museum
Greenlandic landscapes are on view at the Emanuel A Petersen Art Museum, where most of the works are by the eponymous Danish artist. Petersen (1894-1948) was a prolific painter, and during his career he made several trips to Greenland to paint its extraordinary landscape and light. Through numerous exhibitions around Europe and his illustrations in Greenland in Pictures, published in 1928, he introduced the magic of the Arctic to the rest of Europe. When he died he left an extraordinary collection of paintings of early-20th-century Greenland, 66 of which are exhibited here.
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University Library
The University Library was established in 1747 as the New Herrnhut Mission (House of Moravian Brethren), originally set up by a trio of missionaries who arrived soon after Hans Egede. It's a most attractive red wooden building topped with bell-shaped campanile and set behind a forest of white, wooden grave posts. In the grass leading down towards a peaceful pebble beach are several ruins of old turf houses. The sea views are very pleasant.
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Uummannaq Museum
The excellent Uummannaq Museum is one of Greenland's better town museums and houses a diverse collection featuring displays on the Qilakitsoq mummies, the whaling era, the former marble quarry at Maarmorilik, and Greenlandic history and archaeology. There's also a display on the ill-fated 1930-31 inland ice expedition of German scientist Alfred Wegener, famous for his theory of continental drift.
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Hunting & Fishing Museum
The newly renovated Hunting & Fishing Museum emphasises the hunting and fishing traditions of the polar Inuit, and contains both traditional and modern tools, implements and conveyances, as well as a wooden dory. There are no set opening hours, but during business hours there's usually someone at the door; if not, ask for the key at the Knud Rasmussen Museum.
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Kittat
Kittat is a low-key fur workshop that specialises in making traditional style costumes and kammiks. Anyone can peep inside at the small, functional flensing and sewing rooms. The skin-drying racks are outside. Along with the museum and a carver's co-operative, this is where you'd end up on the tourist office's rather pricey Dkr198 'handicraft tour'.
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Maniitsoq Museum
Maniitsoq Museum is housed in a series of picturesque historic buildings constructed in 1874 and originally used to house a bakery, a blacksmith's shop and work sheds. The museum displays artefacts dating from Saqqaq times right up to the early 20th century. Another section is devoted to local art and features the work of Kangaamiut artist Jens Kreutzmann.
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