Unique World of the Inuit | Ittoqqortoormiit | East Greenland

Morning flight from Reykjavik to Akureyri on going flights to Greenland will change to the Twin Otter or King Air B200 aircraft. The incoming flight towards Greenland is a memorable one to say the least. Getting to see the inland icecap from above on one side and the pack ice and frozen over sea is equally mesmerizing. When landing at Constable Point you will get to see how isolated the area is. The airport consists of one building with basically nothing nearby.

After a short while wait you will be flown by helicopter to the town of Ittoqqortoomiit. The helicopter flight will be just as magnificent, if not better than the view from the plane. Stunning winter landscape as far as the eye can see, with rigged mountains and ice.

From here you will be welcomed by your guide for the trip, who will inform you on the continuing journey by snowmobile to Kap Tobin, where you will be staying the next 8 nights.

Kap Tobin is a small abandoned village that mainly is used by the locals of Ittoqqortoormiit as holiday cottages. In the old days Kap Tobin was a village reaching its heighest population of 120 residents and even with its own school. That was when a telegraph and weather station was founded in 1947, which created jobs. But this was not meant to last, in the mid-1980 the weather station closed down and people started to move, the last people left in 2004.

However, this settlement is only 7 kilometers south of Ittoqqortoormiit and not too hard to reach.

Greenland has evolved a little slower than the rest of the world, but this mainly is the more accessible areas, such as Nuuk, Ilulissat, Qaqortoq and even Tasiilaq further south on the East Coast. But as the location of Ittoqqortoormiit is so hard to reach, change goes very slow.

Running water is not a luxury they can possess, therefor no flushing toilet or showers. But the town is equipped with a service house and a water tank from rain in the spring and fall. In summer the river provides water to the residents.

Kap Tobin offers endless hiking grounds, a great place to snowshoe or ski your way through the winter paradise. Endless possibilities for the adventurer in you, the only limit is your imagination.

Peaceful and therapeutic surroundings giving you the absolute best of Greenlandic winter.

A place where you don’t have to travel far to spot wildlife, either in the air or on land. Here the majestic musk ox thrive. You might even be so lucky to see the local hunters do what they do best, tracking down their pray.

Ittoqqortoormiit is a small town of 450 inhabitants and their existence still relies very much of fishing and hunting. The area is so isolated that the big ships providing all the resources to the town, only arrives once a year, therefore not enough food resources alone.

The locals know how little there will be done about their situation, that is why you will see a couple of wooden houses and probably see some in progress. They build their own homes, well knowing how hard it is to get materials to town. These people are survivors, always have been and always will be. They do not give up just because things get rough, they take up the challenge and do what is necessary.

Ittoqqortoomiit is known for the National Park as it is the entrance point, the only inhabited area close to the protected grounds.

It is also hard to get into the National Park seeing that there are no people living here, and the only people who have regular access is the local hunters of Ittoqqortoormiit.

The park is spread over 972.000 square kilometers and a coastline of 18 kilometers. A breathtaking landscape, a place like no other. In this area wildlife thrives and the perfect place to see the popular Polar Bears.

Within the park is the tallest mountain in the arctic region Gunnbjørn’s Mountain, with a height of 3.694 meters.

Kap Tobin is known for having the hottest hot spring in Greenland, Uunartoq reaching the highest temperatures in spring, with temperatures of 62 degrees. A great place to visit when the cold days gets just a bit too cold. The Greenlandic name Uunartoq which means “that which one burns oneself on”, an unrealistic experience among the snow covered surroundings.