Travel Scandinavia Baltic Tours Antarctica Expedition Cruises

A voyage to the Southwest of Greenland. We will visit a medieval Viking Cathedral, bathe in a hot spring surrounded by icebergs and see where Viking Eric Red lived. We sail past Flade Isblink and keep a lookout for Humpback Whale and Minke Whale. Later we sail past Pamiut into Kuanersoq (Kvanefjord) to the island of Qeqertaq.

Itinerary

We will embark our vessel s/v Rembrandt van Rijn in Nuuk, in the late afternoon

Nuuk (Godthåb - Neu Herrenhut) the capital of Greenland has a population of about 15,000. An excursion should include a visit to the museum which has a remarkable collection of Inuit mummies, dating from the 15th Century, which were found near Uummannaq, further to the north. The Cultural Centre of Nuuk, which each year has an exhibition of the work of a Greenlandic artist, is also worth visiting. The waters to the west of the town are a good place to see Humpback Whale and Blue Whale.

We call at Lichtenfels an abandoned Herrnhuters mission post, with a large cemetery from the 18th century, and Fiskenaes (formerly called Brielse Haven).

Highlights

Shore based walking

• Shore based walking

• Herrnhuters mission post

• Fiskenaes

We sail past Pamiut into Kuanersoq (Kvanefjord) to the island of Qeqertaq

We sail past Flade Isblink and keep a lookout for Humpback Whale and Minke Whale. Later we sail past Pamiut into Kuanersoq (Kvanefjord) to the island of Qeqertaq at the head of the fjord, and make a landing Ivnarssup qava an accessible and beautiful lake.

Highlights:

• Humpback Whale

• Minke Whale

• Qeqertaq

We will enjoy a nice walk along the remains of a Cryolite mine in Ivittuut

In Ivittuut we walk along the remains of a Cryolite mine and around a small cemetery connected with it. In this area we see Musk Oxen, which were introduced into the area in the last century. Some way into the fjord we see the beautiful Fox Waterfall, and at the head of the fjord the front of the Arsuk Glacier. We could sail into the Ika Fjord, where from the zodiac we can see the fantastic underwater columns of Calcium carbonate hexahydrate.

zodiac we can see the fantastic underwater columns of Calcium carbonate hexahydrate.

Highlights:

• Musk Ox

• Fox Waterfall

• Cryolite mine in Ivittuut

Deeper into Bredefjord at Qoornooq, we land in an area with remains of houses from the Thule culture

Today we sail to the beautiful glacier fronts of Qaleralik Sermia, where we will have some zodiac excursions and make some landings near the glacier. Deeper into Bredefjord at Qoornooq, we land in an area with remains of houses from the Thule culture.

Highlights:

• Thule culture

• Qoornooq

• Glacier fronts of Qaleralik Sermia

We will try to get to Uunartoq, where we can bathe in a large hot spring, surrounded by icebergs

We reach Lichtenau a lovely but nearly deserted Greenlandic village, where the Herrnhuters had a mission in the 18th Century, and where still some of their large buildings remain. We will try to get to Uunartoq, where we can bathe in a large hot spring, surrounded by icebergs. Close to it is Illorpait another abandoned Moravian Mission.

Highlights:

• Herrnhuters mission post

• Bathe in a large hot spring

• Moravians mission post

At Hvalsey we visit the famous medieval Viking Cathedral, the largest Viking building in Greenland.

Highlights:

• Viking Cathedral of Hvalsey

In Eriksfjord we visit the Viking sites of Gardar (a walk of 3 km from the landing site at Itilleq in the neck of the Peninsula) and Brattahlíð, where Erik Red lived about a thousand years ago. In the evening we arrive at the port of Narsarsuaq.

Highlights:

• Viking site of Gardar

• Erik the Red

• Brattahlíð

Our final morning. We will disembark the ship in the morning in Narsarsuaq

From Narsarsuaq we fly by charter plane to Reykjavik

Notes