Ittoqqortoormiit

Ships moor or anchor here, so passengers tender ashore. The destination is also called Scoresby Sound.

Ittoqqortoormiit stands at Scoresby Sound, the world’s longest fjord and largest fjord complex when its ancillary fjords are included. Its municipality is roughly Great Britain’s size, yet only 550 citizens live there, leaving more than 420 km2 (162 square miles) per resident. People live in the town itself or in the two settlements, Itterajivit/Cape Hope and Uunartoq/Cape Tobin.

For many guests, the journey to Ittoqqortoormiit is an adventure in itself, since the town is nearly as remote as it is possible to be from any other inhabited Greenland location.

No roads join Greenland’s towns, so travel is by plane or ship. The sometimes extreme Arctic climate imposes strict safety requirements, which Greenland’s transport providers meet fully. For short journeys outside towns, local people travel by their own boats, dogsleds or snowmobiles.

Few visitors reach this far-flung area, where winters are long and the sea freezes for nine months each year. Those who do come are assured a trip with very few other people. Around Ittoqqortoormiit, options include trophy hunting, expedition-style sea-kayak or dogsled trips, and gentler sailing and hiking excursions. The National Park north of town has distinctive fauna, with many mammal and bird species.

Greenland souvenirs are one-of-a-kind handmade artworks, unlike those found elsewhere in the world. Greenlandic artists shape and design every item, balancing tradition and custom with their own ideas and abilities. Each product reflects the maker’s skill, and visitors should have ample opportunity to find exactly what they seek.

Many hotels, restaurants and shops take credit cards, but bring a little Danish kroner to Greenland because some ATMs can be out of service at weekends.

When kalaallisut, or Greenlandic, is spoken, visitors will understand absolutely nothing at all. Its name means “the Greenlanders’ language”.

Danish is more or less the second language; English is less widely used.

Take a laptop for internet and e-mail. Most major hotels have hotspots for online access, while Internet cafés are available in several bigger towns and web mail can be checked at a number of tourist offices.

Greenland’s mobile-phone system uses GSM 900/1800.

In larger towns, supermarkets usually open weekdays 10:00 – 17:30, until 18:00 on Fridays and 09:00 – 13:00 on Saturdays. Many towns also have corner and grocer’s shops with longer hours, including Sunday opening.