East Greenland is one of the most isolated habitations in the world. Along the more than 20,000 kilometres / 12,427 miles of coastline you'll only encounter two towns and five small settlements, inhabited by no more than 3,500 people. An awesome wilderness of more than 1,457,000 Sq km including the world's largest national park, East Greenland offers fantastic possibilities for great adventures. In East Greenland, steep mountains rise from the sea and giant white and blue icebergs float in deep fjords. Only 120 years ago, there was no connection between East and West Greenland. Therefore, the culture, traditions, and even language are different between inhabitants of the east and west.
Discover the world's largest fjord system in East Greenland. Zodiac cruise and kayak along sounds filled with spectacular icebergs calved from glaciers of Greenland's enormous ice cap. Rock-climbers will thrill to the adventure of scaling some of the world's least explored and dazzling mountain ranges while scuba divers plunge below the icy sea to witness a strange dazzling world seen by few where icebergs, catfish and lumpsuckers, and odd-looking sea cucumbers all vie for attention. On shore, encounter colourful tundra on hikes and meet friendly Inuit locals who still practice a traditional hunting and fishing lifestyle.
Zodiac
cruise amongst colourful and giant sculptured icebergs in the world's
largest fjord system, Scoresbysund
Meet
Inuit locals at Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland's remotest and northernmost
inhabited settlement
Kayak
in waters teeming with whales and ringed, harp and hooded seals
Encounter
musk ox and perhaps arctic foxes on hikes through colourful tundra
Listen
out for the crackling and popping of sea ice and the thunderous roar of
calving glaciers
Summit
majestic and untouched mountains climbed by privileged few (additional
cost)
DATES / RATES
Rates are listed per person
Start Date
End Date
From EUR
From USD
Rates are listed per person
Start Date
End Date
From EUR
From USD
ITINERARY
Day
1 – Reykjavik Arrive
in Reykjavik, Iceland, and make your own way to our group hotel.
Day
2 – Drive Reykjavik to Akureyri After
a leisurely breakfast, check-out of your room and board your
comfortable coach for your drive on the ring road north to Akureyri,
Iceland’s second largest town, where your ship the Greg
Mortimer awaits. Whatever the time of year, Akureyri is a lively and
energetic town, and home to around 20,000 inhabitants. It is by far the
most densely populated community outside the Reykjavík area,
and is the centre of trade, culture and services for the north of
Iceland. It is a town closely associated with educational institutions
and cultural events, all of those having strong traditional roots.
The
400 km/248 mile journey to Akureyri takes approximately six hours and
you will get a glimpse of Iceland’s dramatic landscape along
the way. Upon embarkation, you’ll have time to settle into
your cabin before our important briefings. Spend some time out on the
observation decks and say goodbye to Iceland as we sail across the
Denmark Strait to Greenland.
Day
3 – At Sea As
we cross the Denmark Strait to Greenland, enjoy informative and
entertaining lectures from our expert expedition team including
naturalists, historians and geologists.
Days
4-11 – East Greenland As
we approach East Greenland, we may encounter more pack ice where we may
see seals and a variety of seabirds, including northern fulmar and
migratory Brunnich’s guillemots. This stretch of coastline is
ripe for exploration, with its many secrets locked in place by drift
ice for up to eight months each year. Home to snowy owls and musk ox,
it’s the world’s largest national park, covering
972,000km2; most of which is inland ice and the rest a composite fjord
landscape.
Over
the next seven days a host of choices are open to us, and depending on
ice and weather conditions, the east coast of Greenland is ours to
explore. Our experienced expedition team, who have made countless
journeys to this area, will use their expertise to design our voyage
from day to day. This allows us to make best use of the prevailing
weather, ice conditions and wildlife opportunities. We will generally
make up to two landings or Zodiac excursions per day; cruising along
spectacular ice cliffs, following whales that are feeding near the
surface.
Over
the coming days, be prepared to experience ice, lots of it. East
Greenland contains some of the Arctic’s most impressive
scenery. Deep fjords and narrow channels, flanked by sharp ice-clad
peaks up to 2,000 metres / 6,562 feet high. Glaciers create gigantic
icebergs that drift throughout the fjord system creating breath-taking
scenes. The landscape is filled with multi-coloured tundra home to musk
oxen and arctic hare. Throughout the area are ancient Thule
archaeological sites, historical trappers’ huts, and modern
Inuit hunters’ cabins. A highlight is a visit to the Inuit
village of Ittoqqortoormiit, the most isolated and northernmost
permanent settlement in the region, with approximately 450 inhabitants.
The community boasts an excellent museum, gift shop, an abundance of
Greenlandic sled dogs, and the opportunity to meet Inuit people.
Explore
Scoresbysund, the largest fjord system in the world – a
spectacular place that simply needs to be seen to be believed. North of
Scoresbysund are, Kong Oscar and Kaiser Franz Josef fjords, two of the
most significant fjord systems in all of Greenland, each one
encompassing several smaller fjords and sounds. Thanks to the fertile
volcanic soil mountains that protects areas from the strong winds, the
area is rich in wildlife. You may spot everything from musk ox and
arctic foxes to mountain hares and even reindeer near the fjord. Look
skyward and you could catch a glimpse of birds including glaucous gull,
black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar, common raven and common eider.
We
will attempt to enter Kaiser Franz Josef Fjord, a remote and rarely
visited fjord system with countless opportunities for exploration
within the Northeast Greenland National Park. Cruising through Kong
Oskar Fjord we will marvel at the geological beauty of the mountains.
We will then head south along the coast of Liverpool Land, with our
passage dependent on ice conditions. We aim to reach Scoresbysund, the
world’s biggest fjord and a favourite hunting ground of the
local Inuit. Massive glaciers dump into this fjord, the birthplace of
the famous big Greenland icebergs.
We
plan to visit the remote Inuit community of Ittoqqortoormiit (Scoresby
Town) and to hike across the tundra in search of ancient graveyards and
summer villages occupied 3,000 years ago by the Inuit. This area
provides excellent opportunities for sea kayaking in its maze of calm,
interconnecting waterways. If we are lucky we may see musk oxen, arctic
hare and seals.
Places
we may along the east coast include:
Cape
Humboldt is a beautiful bay on Ymer Island. There is a good chance to
take a tundra walk and see musk oxen graze. We will also keep a lookout
for arctic fox and ptarmigan. A lone trapper’s hut looks over
the bay and magnificent icebergs.
Sefstrom
Glacier adorns the narrow peaked waterway in Alpefjord. Enjoy Zodiac
cruising and kayaking in this pretty area, where colourful Arctic flora
adorns the tundra ground. Ittoqqortoormiit is Scoresbysund’s
colourful Inuit community of approximately 500 people. Here you can
explore the village, the fascinating museum or sit in the beautiful
Lutheran Church. The locals are friendly and from underneath their
arctic fox-fur jackets, the shy young children are keen to say hello
and practice their English.
Sydkap
in Scoresbysund offers good walking and delightful views across the
sound. Kayakers will have good opportunities to explore the lonely
beaches. We may explore the ancient gravesites on the island, or the
lakes with green tunnels and giant icebergs offer hours of enjoyment
for kayak and Zodiac rides.
Rømer
Fjord Rømer
Fjord with its narrow channels and towering peaks is simply stunning,
and lies roughly 167 kilometres / 104 miles south of Scoresbysund.
There are great hiking options in the fjord where flowering tundra
plants, scattered bones of whales and musk ox from centuries of hunting
by the Inuit, and fumaroles can be found. These are areas where heated
groundwater boil to the surface creating bubbling pools and mineral
formations as the water reacts with the atmosphere.
Rode
Ø Rode
Ø island is a glorious place for Zodiac cruising, hiking and
kayaking, with its rich red Devonian sandstone geology. Discover the
impressive mafic dyke that runs through the east side of Rode
Ø. Glaucous gulls find perfect perches and nesting sites
along the top of the basalt extrusions. Kayak along the maze of
icebergs - pillars and arches, caves and peaks that look as though an
artist had sculpted them.
Hare
Fjord The
scenery here is breathtaking. Walk across the tundra alongside a ravine
or Zodiac cruise where you might find musk ox, along with flitting
shore birds, seals and a variety of colours in the lush Arctic tundra.
Kayakers can enjoy sublime paddling in one of the most remote fjords in
the world. Nearby is the spectacular and impressive Ø Fjord,
a perfect place for small ship cruising.
Nordvest
Fjord If
mountains rising 1,200 metres straight out of the water
wasn’t enough, how about the fjord itself, descending to
1,500 metres? There are also countless icebergs pouring out of the
Daugård-Gensen Glacier. A great place for kayaking and Zodiac
cruising with plenty of gorgeous bergs while the glacier itself,
seemingly small from a distance, proved to be a formidable river of ice
snaking down the valley.
Eskimobugt No
one can state the exact age of the neo-Eskimo site at Eskimobugt, but
it may only be a few hundred years old. Subterranean winter houses
designed with a tunnel that faces the sea where occupants would crawl
through to the stand-up living chamber; at the opposite end is the
sleeping platform. The walls were erected with carefully laid stones
while the roof structure would be built from whatever material was
available - driftwood, walrus bone, and available skin covering. Fire
hearths were created by laying rocks in a circle with a bed of white
quartzite stones. Learn from our historian about the incredible
resourcefulness of the Inuit people whose men travelled formidable
distances by kayak to hunt, and whose women crafted sophisticated
garments from animal skins and fur – a people for whom
survival in such extremes was paramount. Hiking here offers panoramic
views, sightings of musk ox and, occasionally arctic hare.
Skipperdalen See
some of the most striking sedimentary sandstone, shale and siltstone
formations imaginable. The alternating colours and patterns in the
layers of rocks defied belief, and the layers of sediment here are
estimated to have taken about 4,000 years to be laid down. You can also
find the remains of a simple but highly effective wooden fox trap in
use by Norwegian trappers in both Greenland and Svalbard from the early
1900s to 1960s. Skippendalen is also a marvellous place to hike and
paddle in kayaks.
Other
possible landing points in the area include:
Rypefjord
Nordenskjöld
glacier & Blomsterbugten
Alpenfjorden
FjordFonfjord
Bjorn
Oya
Milne
Land
Hekla
Havn
Denmark
Island
Day
12 – Denmark Strait In
the Denmark Strait, we sail back towards Iceland. Keep a lookout for
whale blows and the many seabirds that trail our ship in the ever
present Arctic winds. Enjoy the time to reflect on your recent
adventures, share and exchange photos, and breathe in the fresh ocean
air. As we near Iceland, we re-enter an inhabited world as we encounter
fishing vessels working the coastal waters.
Day
13 – Disembark in Rekjavik After
breakfast, farewell your expedition team, crew and fellow expeditioners
as you disembark in Reykjavik. Our buses will be waiting to transfer
you back to downtown Reykjavik or to the airport.
One
night's hotel accommodation with breakfast in Reykjavik on Day 1
Group
transfer from Reykjavik to Akureyri pier on Day 2
Transfer
from pier to downtown or airport in Reykjavik on Day 13
Onboard
accommodation during voyage including daily cabin service
All
meals, snacks, tea and coffee during voyage
Beer,
house wine and soft drinks with dinner
Captain's
Welcome and Farewell reception including four-course dinner, house
cocktails, house beer and wine, non-alcoholic beverages
All
shore excursions and Zodiac cruises
Educational
lectures and guiding services from expedition team
Free
access to our onboard doctor for consultations relating to
sea-sickness. A standard fee of US $60.00 (reclaimable through your
travel insurance provider) applies for medical consultations not
related to sea-sickness
A
3-in-1 waterproof polar expedition jacket
Complimentary
use of muck boots during the voyage
Comprehensive
pre-departure information
A
printed photo book produced with photos from your voyage
Port
surcharges, permits, and landing fees
ADVENTURE
OPTIONS
Sea Kayaking: USD 980 per person
Rock Climbing: USD 940 per person
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