Northern Greenland Voyage Tips and guide

Contents

The Far North of Greenland is sparsely inhabited and exceptionally cold. Even getting here is an achievement, and getting around is an exercise in planning, as the tourist infrastructure found in other parts of Greenland simply is not present here.

80°13′12″N 41°55′12″W

Map of Northern Greenland

• 77.466667-69.2305561 Qaanaaq
• 72.786944-56.1472222 Upernavik

• 83.676333-30.6440561 ATOW1996 is a tiny uninhabited island (about 10 m across and 1 m high) in the Arctic Ocean, north of Greenland, and is considered the northernmost piece of permanent land on Earth—though there are a couple of unconfirmed potential islands further north. So far the only sighting of the island was in a 1996 exploration; beyond that you'd have to be incredibly resourceful and adventurous to make it here and back alive. The nearest city is Qaanaaq.
• 77-312 Northeast Greenland National Park – the world's largest national park protecting the entire northeast of Greenland
• 75.216667-18.53 Shannon Island

Temperatures by the coast climb just above freezing in summer, with daily means of about 6 °C (43 °F) in July and −20 °C (−4 °F) to −25 °C (−13 °F) in February in Upernavik and Qaanaaq (Rovaniemi has 16°C/60°F and −11°C/13°F in comparison). Station Nord on the north coast has an average temperature of 3.4 °C (38.1 °F) in July and −31 °C (−24 °F) in February. In the inland highlands winters are even harsher; Summit Camp has an average of −13 °C (9 °F) in July and −48 °C (−54 °F) in January.

• Air Greenland is basically the only option for tourists. Tickets are expensive and the schedule is sparse. Airports exist at Qaanaaq and Upernavik.
• There is also the Thule Air base, which belongs to the U.S. It has flights directly from the U.S., but only for people working there or invited.
• Cruise ships visit in the summer time.

• Air Greenland operates helicopter flights from the airports to settlements without airports.

While summer days are mostly just cool or cold by the coast, in winter and in the inland it can get incredibly cold. Even for short summer hikes you should have some understanding of cold weather. When it is not summer, or for longer hikes, you will probably need an expert to guide you on equipment and for survival would the weather turn bad.