The Icefjord trek

Itinerary

Day 1 : Kulusuk

Flight from Keflavík airport to Kulusuk at 17.30 (5.30 pm). Arrival 17.15 local time. The guide greets the group at the airport in Kulusuk and after putting the luggage on a quad trailer, walks with the group to the village, 30 min. Night in a local house, dormitory style.

Day 2 : Sun Gate, Trout Lake, and the Icefjord

In the early morning, we sail to Qinertivaq (1.5 to 2 hours), a narrow fjord surrounded by high granite mountains. We walk to the bottom of the fjord and from there to the Trout Lake at the foot of the pass called the Sun Gate. At Trout Lake, we turn southwest and cross a glacier river that runs into the lake. On the riverbanks, we can admire the national flower of Greenland, the Dwarf Fireweed, also called Arctic River Beauty. Our valley turns to the west, we pass a small lake and a small glacier and then we start to see the Icefjord and its infinitive number of icebergs. The moraines of the glacier give us an excellent opportunity to learn about climate change and its effect on Greenland. Camp at a small peninsula at the edge of the fjord. 7 to 8 hours walk

Day 3 : Along the Sermilk (Icefjord) coast

We walk along the coast and sometimes up on the hills above the shore, on our way to the south. Sometimes we might hear a crack in an iceberg breaking the silence or the sound of an occasional Ringed Plover. We come to a small bay where we might see hundreds of stranded icebergs, each of them the size of a car. We continue to a larger bay where we must wade across a river, and again there is stranded ice of all sizes and forms. In the afternoon we arrive at a peninsula called Paarnakajiit and we put up our camp nearby. 6-7 hours walk.

Day 4 : Sapulik to the Lake

After our breakfast, we load the baggage boat before heading along a small bay called Sapulik. At the bottom of the bay, a river falls into it. We follow the river to a lake where a river crossing awaits us. With the river behind us, we walk along the lake shore to the south in a narrow valley until we come to the narrowest fjord one could imagine, the Amitsivattiva. It’s only a couple of hundred meters across but over 4km long. We put our camp up at the bottom of this fjord. 6-7 hours walk.

Day 5 : The mountain ridge and Tiniteqilaaq

We start the day by climbing the slopes above our camp until we reach a broad ridge which we follow to a summit at 538 m (1600 feet). The view is magnificent over the Sermilk fjord and the surrounding mountains. We take our time for a lunch on the summit, we start hiking along the ridge and down to a small fjord where our boat awaits us. The boat trip starts with sailing to a tiny hunter’s village called Tiniteqilaaq or Tinit or Diilerilaar as the East Greenlanders say. The Village is actually at the edge of the Sermilik fjord so we spend a little time strolling around and maybe someone will try to get a picture of a giant iceberg or two. After a short stop in the villlage, we sail back to Johan Pedersen fjord where we put up a camp for two nights. 5-6 hours walk. 538m ascension and descent.

Day 6 : The glaciers in Johan Pedersen fjord

A full day walk in Johan Pedersen fjord to admire the impressive landscape at the foot of the Innlandis (Ice Cap). We climb to a viewpoint to admire the glaciers that descend from the second-largest Ice Cap on planet Earth and calve into the ocean in the fjord. Back to the same camp. Walk 6 to 7 hours. 500m ascent and descent.

Day 7 : Johan Pedersen to Kulusuk

Morning walk to along the coast to admire the icebergs and the magnificent landscape of Johan Pedersen before sailing back to Kulusuk in the late morning.
Arriving to Kulusuk we take a short walk around the village, go to a very interesting local museum and prepare a last festive dinner together in our house. 2 to 3 hours walk.

Day 8 : Kulusuk - Keflavik Airport

After breakfast in our house in Kulusuk, we take a walk along the village and into the hills that surround it. Learn about the story of Cap Dan and its role in the Cold War and admire some of the pristine nature of Kulusuk Island. We pack our things and put the bags on the quad trailer before walking to the airport where we say farewell. At 18.00 (6 pm), a flight to Keflavik, arrival at 21.45 local time.

Book now