28 AUG - 4 SEPt 2024
6 - 13 SEPt 2024
Our voyage starts in Kulusuk – a small village on the east coast of Greenland.
Angmagssalik, also called Tasiilaq — the largest settlement in East Greenland. The town is located in a picturesque fjord surrounded by high mountains whose slopes and peaks are covered with snow. Beautiful icebergs can be seen on the way to the settlement, as well as cachalots and humpback whales. The town has a population of no more than 2,000 people. Most of the locals are the Inuits, native Greenlanders. The traditional occupation for the Inuits is hunting (sea animals and bears) and fishing.
Sermilik is the region's most ice-carrying fjord with huge icebergs the size of an entire city drifting off its glaciers. The fjord has four major outcrops of the main Greenland Ice Shelf. It is almost always littered with huge, bizarrely shaped icebergs. The main 'suppliers' of icebergs are the Helheimgletscher, Isgletscher, Midgardgletscher glaciers, which are located in the northern part of Sermilik Fjord. One can see the famous Greenland ice sheet and whales from the fjord. We’ll head up Sermilik Fjord as far as the ice conditions will allow.
An old Inuit village is situated on the 'mainland' part of Greenland, on the shore of Sermilik Fjord. It is one of the most interesting and beautiful places in East Greenland. Directly from the shore we can watch the majestic scene of gigantic icebergs of different bizarre shapes floating in front of us. Here you can stroll around and buy something tasty from the local hunters and fishermen. They usually cure river trout and cod.
Depending on the tide and the ice conditions, we might have a chance to go on our motorboat amongst the huge mahouts of ice.
Bluie East Two was a minor United States Army Air Forces airfield at Ikkateq in eastern Greenland. Ikkatteq was a small village in southeastern Greenland. Ikateq (as the village was named in old times) means "shallow water". This place is full of lakes worth seeing, so we`re eager to have a walk to see the best locations.
Kulusuk is home for just over 200 people. There are Danes and Inuits among them. Despite the small population there is a health centre, a church and a cemetery there. The name translates from Greenlandic as 'chest of the black guillemot', a polar bird that nests in the area.
Here we will spend some time in a non-stop crossing to Kulusuk, where our voyage will come to an end. A visit to Kulusuk Museum will provide insights on the life of the Tunumi Inuit of the east coast of Greenland, inter-woven in a personal account of a local family.
An enchanting area of jagged mountains and two glaciers colliding. Sermiliqaaq means “The Beautiful Glacier Fjord” and certainly lives up to its name. Here we`ll go on a nice walk so you can see one or both glaciers calve, an unimaginable sight with sounds of thunder as the ice calves and hits the ocean. The two glaciers Karale Glacier and Knud Rasmussen are impressive and massive giants, and if the weather conditions are fine, the Elsi will reach the glacier.
Bluie East Two and Ammassalik Fjord
The crossing to Kulusuk & Kulusuk Museum
There are regular flights from Reykjavik to Kulusuk and way back.
NOTE: these are FLY&SAIL programs, and the flights ARE included in the price.
When you arrive in Kulusuk, a transfer to the ship will be waiting for you at the airport. In the evening there will be embarkation at the Elsi, dinner and the briefing from the captain. The whole trip will last 8 days, including the day of embarkation on the sailboat and the day of disembarkation.
Tasiilaq has a historical museum of the area, where you can learn about Inuit life, practice balancing on a kayak and see how everyday life is organized in an Inuit house. You can buy some souvenirs and postcards here as well!
If the weather is fine, we`ll try to get as close as possible to Ammassalik Fjord that is famous for whales diving around.