About Greenland

Qaanaaq is home to the most northern community in the world, consisting of a town of 600 people, and five settlements. 

The community of Siorapaluk ("Little Sands" - named after a small sandy beach nearby) is the northernmost inhabited community on Earth; and only 1362 kilometres from the North Pole. Thousands of Little Auks arrive each spring to breed in the hills around the town, and dog sledding trips can be arranged onto Robertson Fiord or as far north as the now abandoned Inuit community of Etah. Siorapaluk is also famous as the birthplace of the main character in the novel and film "Smilla's Sense of Snow" by Peter Hoeg. Savissivik ("The place where one gets iron" - named for the number of meteorites found in the area) is the most Southerly community, near a 19-metre monument to Explorer Robert Peary atop Cap York. The community has limited facilities for visitors, and only one shop.

The village of Herbert, approximately twenty kilometres from Qaanaaq, has been virtually abandoned, although some houses still remain. Qeqertat is a small community located on an island at the bottom of Inglefield fiord. In the summer, large numbers of narwhals enter the fiord to breed. Giant icebergs and glaciers can be viewed from the island. The village of Mourisaq is located approximately thirty kilometres north of Thule airbase, just south of Granville Fiord. A short distance north of the village are old turf houses, some of which are over a hundred years old, and can be viewed in the summer.

Several explorers have made the region their starting point in their travels and study of the northern regions of the world, including Knud Rasmussen (the first man to cross the Northwest passage by dogsled), Robert Peary and Matthew Hensen (The first men to reach the North Pole), and Jean Malaurie.

Due to north Greenland's proximity to North America, the native Inuit people have been crossing the straits from Baffin Island (Canada) for hundreds of years to the most recent mass immigration in the 19th Century. Archaeological evidence shows that the area has been inhabited as long ago as 5000 years. The population of this region still greatly rely on on hunting and fishing for their livelihoods. Seals, birds, narwhal, walrus and polar bear are among the main animals hunted, of which every part of the animal is used - just as it was hundreds of years ago. The meat is used to feed the community (including dogs), skins are used for clothing (bear skins are still the best protection from the cold during long hunting trips), tusks, bones and feathers are used for jewelry, handicrafts and implements. Hunting trips may last up to several weeks if necessary. Strict regulations are placed on hunting in the Qaanaaq region, which includes the methods involved in taking the animals - narwhals, for example, are only permitted to be hunted using harpoons.

Not surprisingly, the Qaanaaq region is famous for producing high-quality handicrafts, which are exported to other regions of Greenland and the world.

Temperatures in Qaanaaq range from -5 to -30°C (23 to -22°F) in the winter and 5 to 15°C (41 to 59°F) in the summer. The midnight sun occurs between May and August, and the Aurora Borealis can be viewed all year round.

The small hotel Qaanaaq provides accommodation, and the glaciers are less than an hour's walk from town. There are direct flight connections from Ilulissat to Qaanaaq twice a week.