Fantastically beautiful hike around Lille Malene

The sun was shining and it was “warm” outside (-4 degrees), so we decided it was a good day for a hike around one of the landmarks of Nuuk, Lille Malene.

Lille Malene 

Greenland is fantastic in the way that the unspoiled nature and beautiful views are only so far away. The same goes for Lille Malene (Quassussuaq). The mountain is close to Nuuk and even closer to districts of Nuussuaq and Qinngorput. The mountain is about 450 metres high and thereby a couple of hundred metres shorter than its big sister Store Malene (Ukkusissat), which is about 770 metres high. 

The hike begins  

We started our hike in the centre of Nuuk and walked past the airport to take the right route around the mountain – although it is possible to start the hike in Qinngorput and go left around the mountain. In our backpacks we had water, some food and an extra layer of clothes in case the weather would get colder during the day – the Greenlandic weather is quite changeable!

On astray in deep snow

It took us a while to find the route marked on the map. Because of that, we got into some deep snow. Unfortunately, not everyone found a good way around it. 

A popular hike on a sunny day 

We weren’t the only ones who had gotten the idea to hike around Lille Malene in the beautiful and sunny weather. Along our way, we met other hikers and cross country-skiers. We were all impressed by how good shape many of them were in, since they were able to run up the mountain – seemingly unbothered – while we had to put in quite an effort just to walk up the mountainsides.

In the shade of the mountain

It was warm and lovely to walk in the sun. However, once we were in the shade of the mountain, we quickly felt the cold. Luckily, we didn’t hike too much in the shade of the mountain, and once we were in the shade we didn’t take too many breaks. 

Lunch break

Halfway around Lille Malene we decided to take a lunch break. We climbed up a rock from where we had amazing views of the cold, blue fiord and the great mountain, Sermitsiaq. Sermitsiaq, which rises about 1.200 metres above sea level, is also one of the landmarks of Nuuk. 

Circus Lake 

On our way down to Qinngorput we crossed the Circus Lake, which is completely frozen during the winter. Along the lake is an enormous and a very steep rock wall. We hope we’re able to see the lake in the summertime when the snow and ice has melted. 

Ice rink  

At the foot of the mountain we came across a large area covered in ice smooth as a millpond. We couldn’t help ourselves and of course we had to walk on the ice which – without saying – resulted in quite a heavy number of falls… but we had to try it out!

Back again 

It took us roughly 6 hours to walk from the centre of Nuuk, around Lille Malene and back to the centre of Nuuk again. Once we got back, we were quite tired from spending an entire day in the sunny weather and fresh air. We hope the weather will be as good next weekend, where we plan to do another hike!

If you ever visit Nuuk and are into hiking or cross country skiing, we can absolutely recommend this beautiful hike around Lille Malene! You don’t have to be either experienced or in great shape.

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