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Okay, okay, okay. I do know it’s a little bit of a stretch to name Ilulissat a metropolis, however since Greenland’s inhabitants caps at 56,000 folks, it counts. Greenland’s third largest metropolis/city/group is house to only as many sled canine as people.

Let me say that Ilulissat has undoubtedly earned its status as essentially the most visited place in Greenland. Earlier than calling in with Journey Canada on their Excessive Arctic Explorer journey final summer season, Ilulissat vaguely sat in my periphery as a spot I’d hope to go to someday. I’ve written earlier than about how I prefer to be stunned when visiting locations. Ilulissat blew my expectations out of the water. 

Whereas I knew lots about Ilulissat’s glaciology and its affect on local weather change, I used to be unprepared for the way excellent a spot it was. From essentially the most unimaginable views to an enthralling downtown with plenty of cute retailers and eateries, Ilulissat is punching above its weight relating to tourism. Don’t miss calling in right here on a visit to Greenland. Don’t miss out on a muskox burger.

So, what’s the hype with Ilulissat? 

A cool few hundred kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, Ilulissat is house to the tremendous well-known UNESCO World Heritage Web site: the Ilulissat Icefjord. Forty kilometers lengthy, it runs from the Greenland ice sheet right down to Disko Bay, subsequent to the city. The Jakobshavn Glacier/Sermeq Kujalleq is one the quickest and most energetic glaciers on the earth, spilling big-ass icebergs into the Ilulissat Icefjord. 

And I imply massive. Like the scale of a city-block-full-of-skyscrapers massive. 

Ten p.c of Greenland’s icebergs come from the Sermeq Kujalleq (glacier) right here. In actual fact, 35 billion tons of ice calve right here yearly. The one different comparability is Antarctica. It’s even thought that the iceberg that sunk the Titanic originated right here. 

The Ilulissat Icefjord can also be one of the studied glacial areas on the earth. We’ve got over 250 years of knowledge collected about it. The Jakobshavn Glacier/Sermeq Kujalleq is a large useful resource for us in relation to understanding local weather change relating to glaciology. 

So, along with being extremely vital in relation to science, it’s additionally insanely stunning to see the dramatic glacier in motion. I’ve by no means seen something fairly prefer it. Roaring, grumbling, and cracking nonstop, it couldn’t be extra dynamic and riveting. 

The fiord is normally chocka stuffed with gigantic icebergs as much as a kilometer in top. In actual fact, the icebergs might be so giant that they get caught on the underside of the fiord for years earlier than breaking apart and finally drifting right down to the North Atlantic. You possibly can see this all in motion from a spectacular boardwalk hike that takes you to a viewpoint over the fiord. 

It was a type of completely calm, nonetheless, foggy mornings after we rocked as much as Ilulissat. With Journey Canada, we depart the ship by zodiac to cruise into the harbor to land. The water was like glass, reflecting the gorgeous icebergs and colourful buildings. While you see widespread photographs of colourful cities with massive icebergs in entrance of them, Ilulissat is a type of locations. 

I spent a lot of the day up on the unimaginable, new-ish Ilulissat Icefjord Centre. It sits on the entrance to the stroll out to the point of view over the ice fiord. In actual fact, the roof types the start of the boardwalk. Designed to unite local weather scientists worldwide, it’s a gorgeous constructing that tells the story of the Ilulissat Icefjord in an interactive and enjoyable means. It ain’t boring.

Plus, I fell in love with it for 2 different causes: firstly, it has the perfect espresso in Greenland (no arguing), and secondly, they’ve wooly Glerups slippers for guests to placed on as you stroll in so that you don’t observe mud and filth round (comprised of kiwi wool). 

There are additionally tons of sled canine and puppies on the stroll up from city. Although you’re not meant to pet them, working canine and all that, wink wink.

The stroll out to the point of view overlooking the ice fiord is spectacular. And spectacularly simple. A pleasant boardwalk prevents us from trampling the fragile atmosphere and historic websites that cowl the realm. When you arrive on the finish of the stroll, an intensive stone cliff overlooks the fiord. You possibly can actually unfold out to take all of it in. 

One of many issues I really like about Journey Canada is that they put money into indigenous and specialist guides on all their journeys, so we at all times have an archaeologist on board. On this journey, her specialty was the pre-European historical past of Greenland. Surprisingly, a lot of what we find out about Greenland dates from the Vikings when, in reality, people have inhabited these lands for hundreds of years. Ah, the nice outdated whitewashing of historical past. It’s been a minute.

The Thule and Inuit historical past of Disko Bay is wealthy and various. The museum affords some perception into this, which our archaeologist had labored on. Fairly cool.

Fortunate me, I visited Ilulissat just a few instances final summer season with Journey Canada. We additionally go to on their iconic Northwest Passage voyages. 

One of many coolest issues about Ilulissat is simply how dynamic it’s. It’s at all times altering. On my first go to, it was foggy within the morning, and the ice fiord had loads of gaps of open water with large icebergs. However on my final go to in September, we had blue skies, and the ice fiord was strong ice—it regarded utterly totally different as Greenland shifted into autumn. 

Certainly one of my favourite reminiscences from my entire season within the Arctic was right here. After spending just a few hours within the sunshine, unexpectedly, a darkish Arctic fox darted out onto the ice proper beneath us. I bought so excited that I simply yelled “fox fox fox look look look,” and didn’t get a photograph. Gotta love that childlike enthusiasm. 

However critically, how cool is seeing an Arctic fox on glacial ice? Particularly because it hadn’t grown out its white coat but. 

Touring Greenland by expedition ship meant that we bought to pack lots in that may usually take numerous time. After spending time on the town, we took turns taking passengers out on a zodiac cruise across the gigantic icebergs. Safely, after all. You don’t want to be subsequent to 1 when it crumbles or flips!

That is one of the simplest ways to get these iconic photographs of icebergs in entrance of the colourful city. Being on the water provides an entire new perspective of the magnificence of Ilulissat and Disko Bay.

Not solely are there numerous icebergs, but it surely’s additionally nice for wildlife recognizing. There are sometimes many whales within the space due to the wealthy feeding grounds close to the ice fiord. The same old culprits are humpbacks, minkes, and gigantic fin whales. 

Many due to Journey Canada for internet hosting me in Greenland – like at all times, I’m protecting it actual – all opinions are my very own, like you can anticipate much less from me!