Glaciers, Fjords & Indigenous Cultures

Reykjavík, the world's northernmost capital, offers a striking blend of icy landscapes and fiery volcanic activity.

Heimaey, the largest island of Iceland's Westman archipelago, emerges from the North Atlantic's embrace with a story of resilience and natural splendour.

Umivik Bay, also known as Umiivik and Umerik, is a bay in King Frederick VI Coast, southeastern Greenland. It is part of the Sermersooq municipality. Unlike the jagged and forbidding appearance of most fjord systems in East Greenland, the Umivik area has a relatively gentle shape

Imagine a narrow fjord bordered by rugged peaks, vertical rock walls and serpentine rivers of ice plunging into the sea. This is Skjoldungen Fjord, named by Wilhelm August Graah after the honorific title Skjoldungen which, according to Norse mythology, was given to successors of legendary King Skjold to the Danish throne. Numerous tidewater glaciers calve during the summer, releasing large chunks of ice that plunge into the fjord. Above, huge crevasses and free-standing pillars of ice, known as seracs, are silhouetted against a blue Greenlandic sky. Barren of large trees, Skjoldungen Fjord is carpeted in colorful dwarf birch and willow forests that may grow several feet high, as well as a variety of low-growing Arctic wildflowers. This fjord was likely inhabited by Paleo-Eskimo (Inuit) nomadic people as early as 4,000 years ago. Archaeological remains of later historical periods, such as Thule culture graves, have also been found, indicating that Inuit people have lived in the area continuously. Scattered within this stunning scenery are remains of more recent abandoned Inuit dwellings along the fjord’s western shores.

Tiny Aappilattoq is located in the Prince Christian Sound at Greenland’s southern tip, in the municipality of Kullaleq. Its name means ‘red’ in Greenlandic. The sound is enfolded by steep, unglaciated mountains, rising sheer from the water to sharp, shattered peaks. The town’s setting is particularly picturesque, its brightly painted houses scattered across a small peninsula of humped granite domes, under a backdrop of a looming pyramid of stone. The little red town church nestles next to a white-picketed graveyard. The sound itself is dotted with icebergs slowly melting into expressionist sculptures. It is a place where the infrequent visitors routinely fill their camera cards with unforgettable images of Greenland’s spectacular visual splendor.

Sail past majestic whales and between immense icebergs as you cruise the serene waters that surround Greenland.

Twelve miles by Zodiac up the Hvalseyjarfjord from Qaqortoq, the largest community in South Greenland, lies the most prominent Norse archaeological site in Greenland. The so-called Eastern Settlement lasted from the 10th until the mid-15th century. Your expedition team archaeologist can interpret for you the ruins of the great halls and church at Hvalsey that hint of a prospering medieval farmstead. The site evokes an era when the Norse were trading with the indigenous Thule people of the area for furs and ivory, which were a prized commodities in Europe. A wedding held in the church in 1408 comprises the last written record of the Norse adventure in Greenland. Within a few years, Hvalsey and the rest of other Norse communities of Greenland withered as immigrants returned to the more established communities in Iceland and Norway. The site’s meadows of wildflowers sloping up from the fjord give a sense of the peaceful community that existed here in that long-ago summer.

Narsaq is a town in the Kujalleq municipality in southern Greenland. The name Narsaq is Kalaallisut for "Plain", referring to the shore of Tunulliarfik Fjord where the town is located.

Tiny Itilleq is located on an island in the Davis Strait on Greenland’s west coast. The island has no freshwater source, so the town’s population of just over a hundred inhabitants depends on desalination for their freshwater. The salinity and temperature of water is a subject being carefully studied in the Davis Strait, since it is one of the relatively few restricted bodies of water connecting the Arctic Ocean with other seas, in this case the Labrador Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The narrow strait between Greenland and Baffin Island experiences dramatic tide changes of 30 to 60 feet, and the differences in temperature and salinity create far-reaching effects on the global oceanic currents and weather patterns. So tiny, isolated Itilleq represents an example of the way unseen forces shape and affect all our lives.

This fishing town is situated on a low-lying peninsula backed by towering black volcanic mountains. There are no shore excursions available for Paamiut, and guests will no doubt enjoy walking into the town and visiting the beautiful church, which is reminiscent of the stave churches of Norway and boasts excellent acoustics. The local museum has photos of the whaling history, and examples of local arts and crafts, which are also offered for sale in the town. The town is the hub of numerous thousand-year old paths leading into the countryside. If the weather is good, guests might wish to take one of these for a while to get the feel of the place. Keep a sharp eye out for whales in the sea, and sea eagles in the sky or on the peaks.

Nestled along Greenland's rugged west coast, Nuuk stands as a vibrant Arctic capital, offering a captivating blend of ancient tradition and modern innovation.

Sail past majestic whales and between immense icebergs as you cruise the serene waters that surround Greenland.

Sail past majestic whales and between immense icebergs as you cruise the serene waters that surround Greenland.

Sail past majestic whales and between immense icebergs as you cruise the serene waters that surround Greenland.

Sail past majestic whales and between immense icebergs as you cruise the serene waters that surround Greenland.