Tasiilaq

Inuit culture and hiking

The Tasiilaq area is perfect for adventurous people. You will find green valleys, icebergs in many shades, whales, beautiful views, and high mountain peaks. You are close to the end of the world, and beauty takes no end.

In Tasiilaq, nature is the all-dominant force that underpins the course of life. This means, for example, that ships only arrive in the town during two to three summer months, as the town is otherwise shielded from the outside world due to ice. Fortunately, Air Greenland services the beautiful town by helicopter from Kulusuk. In summer, the green meadows are an amazing contrast to the millions of icebergs you find in the Sermilik Fjord just a few miles away.

Summer in Tasiilaq is a study in green and white – and also black when a beautiful and impressive whale swims by in the nearby fjords. The area is a hiker’s paradise, and anyone can join here. There are trips for all types of hikers.Content editor

Inuit culture in Tasiilaq

The culture in East Greenland is very special. The area is isolated because of the Greenland Ice Sheet, and therefore, it is still possible to experience much of the very original Inuit culture. There are still many hunters here, and there are still people taking up summer camps, as they have done for a thousand years to create a supply of foods for the winter.

Tupilaks are Greenlandic figures carved in bone, tusk, or soapstone. Tupilaks from East Greenland are in high demand, not only among travelers but also among the Greenlanders themselves. The East Greenlanders are excellent carving artists. In Tasiilaq, you can experience this work up close when you visit the local workshop.

In the middle of the town, you will also find the shop Skæven, which functions as a tourist office and also sells the finest items of bones, hides, and tusk. The museum in Tasiilaq is one of the most exciting in the country. East Greenland was first discovered by the Europeans in 1884, so the original Inuit culture is richly represented.

Hiking in the Flower Valley near Tasiilaq

The area surrounding Tasiilaq is good for all kinds of hiking. Here, you can easily walk out into nature and quickly get the feeling of being far from the beaten track. The Flower Valley near Tasiilaq is a gem. The flowers of the valley are surrounded by mountains, while the waterfall in the middle of the valley roars on.

The Flower Valley is intersected by a winding river, which in several places creates beautiful waterfalls in the otherwise flat area. If you want to go for a walk on your own, you should start the tour at the Club and walk clockwise along the river. You walk past the cemetery and will be pleasantly surprised when you turn a corner and, suddenly in front of you, you will see the waterfall with the Pyramid Mountain in the background. It’s so beautiful.

A boat trip or hike to Sermilik Fjord

Not far from Tasiilaq lies the beautiful Sermilik Fjord, which is for East Greenland, what Ilulissat Ice Fjord is for West Greenland. Here in the fjord, huge icebergs flow out from the many glaciers that calve into the fjord. The wow factor is huge, and you will never forget that fjord. It is from the Isortoq village, not far from Tasiilaq and Sermilik, that people either go by sled, ski, or snowmobile or hike across the Greenland Ice Sheet.

You can also climb the steep and pointed mountains that surround Tasiilaq. Before embarking on some of the more demanding routes, we recommend that you get a local guide for the tour.

Local life in Tasiilaq

Tasiilaq is East Greenland’s main town and lies beautifully by a bay, surrounded by pointed mountains that reach towards the sky. You are far from the rest of the world when you are in East Greenland, and you can see that. East Greenland has its very own culture, and the language is also different from what is spoken on the west coast.

In Tasiilaq town there are just over 2,000 people, and the town’s roads give the concept of hilly a new meaning. In Tasiilaq, there is not a lot of flat roads. Up and down it goes, so sometimes you can take a rest on a bench or in the grass.

East Greenland’s mountains are younger than those in West Greenland, which is why they are also more pointed. You see this every morning when you wake up and look out the window in Tasiilaq. Polheim’s Mountain, the Priest’s Mountain, Pyramid Mountain, and Seamen’s Mountain are some of the peaks you can see from the town. If you want to go hiking, you can climb them all, but should not go up on Polheim’s Mountain alone.

Summer days in Greenland

The harbor is well protected, and this is a plus in an area that has so much drift ice that ships can only come to the area in July, August, and maybe September. In the summer, there is plenty of life in the town, especially during the local, annual football championships. On those days, the cheering roars from the football field will compete with the dogs’ howling concerts.

Tasiilaq is close to Kulusuk, where flights are available to both Nuuk and Iceland, so it is surprisingly easy to get here. Do it. You will not regret it.