Greenland’s Arctic Grandeur: Culture & Glacial Landscapes

Depart for Reykjavík, Iceland, on an overnight flight

REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND

Arrive this morning and transfer to the hotel for an overnight stay. After lunch, choose from three options, including spending the afternoon at leisure. You may also join a rejuvenating excursion to the Sky Lagoon, an oceanside thermal pool that modernizes Iceland’s ancient bathing traditions. While enjoying a relaxing soak, savor views of the Atlantic as well as sights like Bessastaðir, known as Iceland’s presidential residence, and the 700,000-year-old Snæfellsjökull glacier. As a third option, participate in an island tour, including a visit to the National Museum of Iceland, which preserves the country’s expansive heritage through its vast collections, from medieval artifacts to 20th-century photographs. Continue to the historic center of Reykjavík, once a Viking village, and admire its charmingly colorful, corrugated-iron houses. This evening, gather for a private cocktail reception at a special venue, with dinner at leisure.

REYKJAVÍK / KANGERLUSSUAQ, GREENLAND/Emabark

After checking out of the hotel this morning, transfer to the Keflavik airport for a privately chartered flight to Greenland. Arrive in Kangerlussuaq, Greenland’s hub for air transport with little more than 500 residents. This tiny municipality sits at the end of a 110-mile-long fjord, where you will board Exploris One. After settling into your cabin, the ship will set sail along the fjord and out to sea for the rest of the evening, heading south along Greenland’s western coastline to the capital of Nuuk.

NUUK

Accessible only by sea or air, Nuuk is Greenland’s largest city, situated at the mouth of one of the world’s largest fjord systems, known for its waterfalls, humpback whales, and icebergs. Notably, Paleo-Eskimo people settled here around 2200 B.C. Walk along Nuuk’s waterfront, which is dotted with brightly colored houses in a variety of pastel shades, with the nearly 4,000-foot-tall Sermitsiaq mountain as a dramatic backdrop. During the stop here, make your way to the Greenland National Museum & Archives, housed in one of Nuuk’s traditional colonial harbor warehouses. Admire its collections charting 4,500 years of Greenland’s history, including its Stone Age inhabitants; the Thule people who arrived here from Alaska circa the 13th century, the ancestors of the modern Inuits; and the lives of Inuit hunters and fishermen. Here, a native Greenlander will introduce you to the local culture with an informative private demonstration. Before returning to Exploris One, you may opt to join a local guide for a visit to the Nuuk Art Museum. Peruse its collection of mostly early 20th-century paintings of Greenland and Greenlandic figurines, treasures that came from the private collection of the late Danish-born Greenlander Svend Junge and his wife Helene. Enjoy the captain’s welcome aboard reception and dinner, where you will meet the crew.

SISIMIUT

Exploris One will cross the Arctic Circle this morning as it cruises toward Sisimiut, Greenland’s second-largest town and a settlement for more than 4,000 years. Sisimiut is notable as Greenland’s northernmost port that remains ice-free during the winter. Discover this town, which is both tranquil and surprisingly vibrant as the home to many Greenlandic students and business organizations. Yet its solitude and fjordside natural beauty are captivating. You may choose to take a privately guided tour of the Sisimiut Museum, housed in a collection of colonial buildings, some dating to as early as the 18th century. Its exhibits are devoted to the local Inuit history, shipping and trade, and archaeological artifacts documenting life dating back 4,000 years. One of the buildings of the museum is the Bethelkirken (commonly known as the “Blue Church” for its color), Greenland’s oldest intact house of worship, prefabricated in Copenhagen in 1771 and assembled here in 1775. Return to Exploris One for dinner and set forth for Kitsissuarsuit.

KITSISSUARSUIT

This morning, arrive off the coast of Kitsissuarsuit and transfer by Zodiac into town. First settled in 1830 by Dutch whalers, this small Inuit settlement of just 50 inhabitants remains self-sufficient thanks to its marine resources, and its tiny population has kept its age-old traditions alive. Explore the island on foot, enjoy some local entertainment, and sample some local delicacies. Return to Exploris One by Zodiac before setting sail toward the Eqi Glacier, one of nature’s great spectacles.

EQI GLACIER / QEQERTAQ

Board Zodiacs in the company of naturalist guides and embark on an up-close cruise to the toe of the Eqi Glacier, a monumental display, standing more than 30 stories tall with a width of more than three miles. This large tidewater glacier, which flows directly into the sea, originates from the Greenland Ice Sheet, the enormous glacier that covers more than 80 percent of the island. As you approach the Eqi Glacier, loud cracks, seemingly of thunder, break the silence as huge chunks of ice “calve,” or break off, into the bay, forming icebergs. Have your cameras ready as this epic scene unfolds, with pieces of various sizes crashing into the water. Learn more about the formation of the Eqi Glacier and how climatologists are monitoring it and similar glaciers as Earth’s temperature rises. Stay on the Zodiacs for the voyage back to Exploris One, enjoying a lunchtime sail to Qeqertaq, a small settlement of 140 people. A local guide will lead you on a tour of the village, where residents primarily earn their living through halibut fishing and their own fish processing facility. Halibut is a valuable and sought-after delicacy, particularly when transformed into rækling, a wind-dried version of the fish.

ILULISSAT / DISKO BAY

Be on deck this morning to see the Northern Hemisphere’s most active glacier—Jakobshavn—often surrounded by icebergs in all shapes and sizes and in varying shades of white and turquoise. Jakobshavn comprises part of the Ilulissat Icefjord, known as “the birthplace of icebergs.” Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004, Ilulissat Icefjord produces nearly 20 million tons of ice each day, all floating into Disko Bay. Step ashore in Ilulissat, founded in 1741 and now Greenland’s third-largest settlement, with a population of 4,900. The town offers a very small yet intriguing selection of museums and art galleries for a deeper look at Greenlandic art, history, and culture. During our guided walking tour of Ilulissat, take an inside look at the Ilulissat City Museum, with its exhibits covering prehistoric life, urban history, fishing practices, and Greenlandic national clothing. You will also peruse museum’s collection of photographs by Jette Bang, a Danish photographer known for capturing Greenlandic Inuit life, as well as pictures taken by pioneering anthropologist Knud Rasmussen. During free time to explore, you may have the opportunity to visit the Icefjord Centre, which opened in 2021. Here, art and science converge to enhance our understanding of Greenland’s vast ice sheets and their global significance. Take an inside look at art installations and a display of ice cores that document climatic and cultural changes dating back as far as 100,000 years, holding insights into forgotten events like volcanic eruptions and meteor impacts. In the evening, board local fishing boats for a sunset cruise among icebergs that have recently been calved off the enormous glaciers.

KUANNIT COAST / QEQERTARSUAQ (DISKO ISLAND)

In Disko Bay, transfer to Zodiacs for a cruise along Disko Island and its Kuannit Coast, where huge volcanic cliffs and basalt rock columns offer refuge for numerous sea birds among the many inlets and coves. Considerably younger geologically than mainland Greenland, Disko Island boasts tall basalt mountains formed by volcanic activity dating back 25 to 65 million years. Its unique location between the low and high Arctic climates fosters diverse flora uncommon for its latitude. Return to Exploris One later this morning and depart for North Greenland’s former capital of Qeqertarsuaq, a small fishing town founded in 1773, set on a peninsula on Disko Island’s southern coast. With a backdrop of gleaming red basalt mountains and black-sand beaches, step ashore for a guided walk and meet a local expert to learn about Qeqertarsuaq’s history as well as some secrets of modern Arctic life. Stop at the charming, octagonal Qeqertarsuaq Church, built in the early 20th century. Then enjoy an inside look at the Qeqertarsuaq Museum, housed in the former official residence of the bailiff for North Greenland. Delve deep into the museum’s exhibitions on the town’s colonial history, its Arctic research station, and the paintings of Jakob Danielsen (1888–1938), a Danish-born artist and local hunter.

EVIGHED FJORD

Sail into Evighed Fjord, which is aptly named “the fjord of Eternity,” as it stretches over 60 miles, seemingly endless in its beauty. The landscape transitions from glaciers to tundra, with rich flora and jagged, bird-filled cliffs. Step off a Zodiac cruise, then take a gentle hike amid the stunning glacial scenery and watch as birds such as white-tailed eagles and black-legged kittiwakes soar above. Later, return to Exploris One and gather for the captain’s festive farewell dinner this evening.

KANGERLUSSUAQ / DISEMBARK / REYKJAVÍK, ICELAND / RETURN

After disembarking this morning, transfer to the Kangerlussuaq airport for the charter flight back to Iceland to connect to homebound flights.