Greenland offering a chance to be at one with nature 06.08.2021: When people think of Greenland, they don’t often consider it as a holiday destination, but the team at Visit Greenland is aiming to dispel that myth and show it off for the magical land it is.

When people think of Greenland, they don’t often consider it as a holiday destination, but the team at Visit Greenland is aiming to dispel that myth and show it off for the magical land it is.




SUP with Nuuk Adventure. Photo - Aningaaq R. Carlsen, Visit Greenland



However, when TIME revealed its list of the World’s Greatest Places last month, which highlights 100 extraordinary travel destinations around the world – Nuuk, Greenland’s capital, made this famous list for the first time.
 




In 2020 The Municipality of Sermersooq, which Nuuk is a part of, announced an ambitious goal to make Nuuk the first certified sustainable capital in the world according to EarthCheck Destination Standard. This decision along with Nuuk’s low pollution levels helped secure its spot on the TIME 2021 list.


Dogsledding in Kangerlussuaq. Photo - Anders Beier, Visit Greenland



Located in the Arctic and home to just 56,000 people, Greenland offers a variety of outdoor activities in any weather, which is important due to varying weather conditions, particularly the temperature, which at its lowest in the height of winter can be a formidable 23 degrees centigrade below freezing.


Activities on the island range from hiking, biking and cross-country skiing right through to water-focussed experiences including paddle boarding, kayaking and for the serious adventurer, there’s even the chance to go diving amongst the whales and icebergs.
 



Each activity allows the individual to take in the stunning landscapes of the country while getting back to nature, and properly switching off from the world – in part due to a lack of connectivity in the remotest of areas – and exploring somewhere completely new.


In addition to these more physical activities, the people of Greenland want to show off their culture and invite tourists to join them in their way of life which includes dog sledding, gastronomy, guided sightseeing as well as learning about Inuit culture.



 Pink sky, colourful Nuuk. Photo - Elia Locardi, Visit Greenland




One thing ingrained in Greenlandic way of life is hunting and fishing, as it is the main way the community can feed themselves. There are several tours available to get involved in these experiences from joining a dog musher for the day, to ice fishing.


But if you’re an adrenalin junkie, there’s an abundance for you too such as snowmobile tours, heliskiing and mountaineering thousands of feet above ground on glaciers.


But maybe one of the most spectacular things on offer is the chance to see the northern lights, or the Aurora Borealis, one of the greatest surprises of the Arctic night. Travellers would be most likely to see this sight between September and April.
 

Two kayakers in the morning sun near tasiusaq sheep farm in South Greenland - Photo Mads Pihl


As the world’s largest island and home to the world’s largest fjord – Scoresby Sund measuring 350km, Greenland offers a host of stunning spectacles, different to anything else on the planet. It is of course home to an ice sheet – one of only two in the world – and an area which can be hiked to and even slept upon as part of Camp Ice Cap – an unforgettable ice camping and trekking adventure.


Hjörtur Smárason, CEO of Visit Greenland says, "Greenland is a next level adventure destination. There are few places in the world where you can experience nature as untouched and unspoiled as in Greenland and connect as strongly with Mother Earth. There are not even roads between any villages. It is a destination where you travel slowly and immerse yourself in nature, learn to understand it from the locals who have adapted to life and travel in extreme conditions for generations, and maybe most importantly, get off the grid and reconnect with yourself."


He continues, “You will find everything here from soft adventures such as hiking, kayaking and dog sledding that are fit for everyone, to the most extreme expeditions including the World's Eighth Summit Gunnbjørnsfjeld, the highest peak in the Arctic."  
 




photo Tail fin of humpback next to iceberg. Photo - Julie Skotte, Visit Greenland



Extreme E’s Arctic X Prix will take place from 28-29 August in Kangerlussuq situated in Western Greenland and home to just 500 people. The aim of putting on the first ever motorsport event on the island is to highlight the impact of the climate crisis on this vast landscape, and solutions we can all take to preserve this incredible country.




- Julia Frey -photos Visit Greenland photographers Aningaaq R. Carlsen, Anders Beier,Elia Locardi, Julie Skotte, Mads Pihl