Albatros Expeditions launches a unique and exciting voyage which strikes out into the northernmost reaches of Greenland. Guests will experience a region of the Arctic like no other, where adventurers of the past sought the North Pole, through which the Greenlandic explorer Knud Rasmussen travelled on his longest dog sled journey, and the home of the Polar Inuit.
The journey begins in Kangerlussuaq, West Greenland’s air hub, from where we cruise north, passing the Greenlandic cities of Sisimiut and Qeqertarsuaq (Disko Island). From here, we will venture even further north towards Cape York, in the footsteps of polar explorer Robert Peary, who passed the area in pursuit of the North Pole. Next, we will step off the edge of the map as we enter Greenland’s northernmost navigable waters in the Nares Strait. This area is vast, icy, and rarely visited. While our exact itinerary in the area will be dictated by the ice which characterizes the region, excursion options include visiting the once famously disputed territory of Hans Island, and searching for polar bears, bowhead whales and narwhals in these pristine polar waters.
As we head back southwards, we will visit Qaanaaq, Greenland’s northernmost town, and navigate further down the west coast to lively Upernavik, picturesque Uummannaq and Ilulissat, site of the largest glacier in the Northern Hemisphere. From here, we will return to Kangerlussuaq, after a voyage covering the northernmost extremes of Earth’s largest island.
Upon arrival to Kangerlussuaq (Søndre Strømfjord), we will be driven to the small port located west of the airport, where Ocean Albatros will be anchored offshore. Zodiacs will transfer us the short distance to the ship, where your stateroom awaits after check-in. After the mandatory safety drill, dine in comfort with spectacular views as we set sail through the 160-kilometer Kangerlussuaq Fjord.
After breakfast, we arrive in the colourful city of Sisimiut, where we will get an idea of what modern Greenland really looks like. With around 5,400 inhabitants, it is considered Greenland’s second city. People have lived around Sisimiut on and off since 2,500 BC, arriving in waves of migration from Arctic Canada. In 1756, Count Johan Ludvig Holstein established a colony here and called it “Holsteinsborg”. The oldest part of Sisimiut features town houses from this era, and the oldest dates back to 1756. One of the most culturally significant buildings is the Blue Church, built in 1775, now a landmark in the city’s museum district.
Nestled below Disko Island’s 1,000-metre mountains, we pull into port in a beautifully sheltered natural harbour. The place was aptly named Godhavn (“Good Harbour”) in Danish, while its Greenlandic name “Qeqertarsuaq” simply means “The Big Island”.
Based on continually updated ice charts, the Captain sets as direct a course as possible towards Cape York. Although far from shore, days at sea are never dull; we are constantly followed by fulmars, skuas and petrels surfing the air currents generated along the vessel. In the lecture hall, our Expedition Staff will offer a diverse program of lectures about Greenlandic nature, history and culture.
Cape York is a rocky promontory traditionally used as the boundary between Melville Bay and the legendary Thule area. Surrounded by vast glaciers calving armadas of icebergs, the area is among the most spectacular in Greenland. The area has been utilised by waves of nomadic Inuit for thousands of years, the majority of whom came to harvest iron from the famous meteorite which fell onto the ice in the region approximately 10,000 years ago. Tools made from the meteorite were far superior to the stone and bone tools more often used by the Inuit, giving hunters in this region a serious edge. The name of the nearby settlement of Savissivik (“Place of Iron”) references the importance of this find, while the Greenlandic name for Cape York itself (meaning “Place of Beads”) indicates the importance of trade with outsiders over the meteorite.
Here, we step off the edge of the map into the poorly known and rarely visited Nares Strait, gateway to the Arctic Ocean. The Nares Strait is the narrow waterway separating Greenland and Ellesmere Island, Canada. Due to the powerful Beaufort Gyre in the Arctic Ocean, the strait experiences a near-constant north-to-south current, bringing sea ice into Melville Bay even during the height of summer. This situation is made even more complex by some of the largest glaciers in the Arctic (such as the vast Petermann Glacier), which regularly calve kilometer-long icebergs into the strait; indeed, access into the Arctic Ocean through the strait is impossible most years due to expansive sea ice north of Kane Basin.
During the night we will have traversed back through Smith Sound at the entrance of the Nares Strait to arrive at Greenland’s northwest corner. Entering Inglefield Fjord, we pass some of Greenland’s biggest bird cliffs and are again in inhabited areas. The Captain will drop anchor off Qaanaaq, the only town of any size in northwest Greenland.
Having left Qaanaaq in the evening, we set sail southwards towards Upernavik Region. Melville Bay is frequently icy even in summer, so the Captain and Expedition Leader will work carefully to chart a course through this treacherous region. Despite its remoteness, Melville Bay is typically relatively sheltered and calm, allowing excellent wildlife-watching opportunities; whales, a huge variety of seabirds and seals are all common in the area.
While the Upernavik region of Greenland covers an area nearly the size of Great Britain, the town itself and the ten smaller settlements in the area total fewer than 3000 souls. Upernavik itself sits on a small island covered in rows of small multi-coloured houses – the quintessential Greenlandic town. Upernavik translates optimistically from Kalaallisut as “Springtime Place”. The town is home to the world’s northernmost open-air museum, with well-preserved buildings, artefacts and documents from the Danish colonial period. Today, Upernavik is a mix between the hunting culture of old and the new wave of high-tech fishing and innovation. Dog sleds sit alongside snowmobiles, and kayaks bob in the harbour next to modern fiberglass boats with throbbing engines.
The small city of Uummannaq sits perched precariously at the foot of a massive mountain. Like the rest of the area, here the mountain reaches vertically out of the icy depths, punching 1170m into the clear blue sky. Uummannaq mountain (translated from Greenlandic as “heart shaped”) is a true Greenlandic icon, and is a mecca for climbers who visit from all over the world. The city itself occupies a small area of flatter ground at the foot of the mountain, founded by Danish colonists in 1763 – some of the original buildings from this era can still be visited in the harbour-front area. More recently, Uummannaq has become famous in Scandinavia as the home of Santa Claus – the small turf house belonging to the festive hero himself can be reached via a pleasant (if challenging) 2-3h hike out of town.
This is it. This is why visitors from all over the world come to Greenland. Translated from Kalaallisut simply as ‘icebergs’, Ilulissat is rightly known the world over as ‘the Iceberg Capital of the World’. Surely no other city on Earth occupies such a spectacular natural setting.
Situated within a short walk of the harbour lies Ilulissat Icefjord, Greenland’s most famous site. Choked with city-sized icebergs so closely packed one could almost walk across to the other side, Ilulissat Icefjord stretches 70 km from its outlet in Disko Bay back to the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier. This is the single largest glacier on Earth outside Antarctica, draining 13% of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and producing 10% of all the ice in the Northern Hemisphere (enough water to supply the annual needs of the entire United States). These mind-blowing statistics, together with the indescribably beautiful scenery, have secured the Ilulissat Icefjord designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Fulmars, auks and guillemots will accompany us south as we approach Kangerlussuaq. Our final day at sea offers the ideal opportunity to edit photos, share experiences with your fellow travelers and reflect on our experiences in the far reaches of the Arctic.
Our lecturers onboard will deliver inspiring and enriching presentations relevant to our voyage, and in the evening, join the Captain and officers of the Ocean Albatros for the Farewell Cocktail Party, followed a slideshow with all the memories and highlights from our voyage made by our onboard Photographer. A copy of the photos and other media will be forwarded to all guests after departure.
The last day will be at sea getting glimpses of sea birds migrating south.
Our lecturers onboard will make inspiring and enriching presentations about Greenland’s history, nature, wildlife and climatology. Enjoy the captain’s farewell drink and a slideshow with all the memories and highlights from our voyage made by the onboard Photographer this evening.
This expedition includes
This expedition excludes
