5 Days in Ilulissat

The museum sits in the old seminary for catechists, a house from the 1840s that trained Greenlandic church helpers, and it is where the polar explorer Knud Rasmussen was born in 1879, when the building served as the priest's home. Rasmussen is a Greenlandic-Danish figure who led the Fifth Thule Expedition and was the first European to cross the Northwest Passage by dogsled, and he is still talked about here as a local boy. Behind the house is an open-air area with a traditional peat house. For the wider story, see Knud Rasmussen and Ilulissat.

Inside, the exhibitions cover Sermermiut, the town's growth, traditional clothing and a room with more than 100 Greenlandic words for the kayak and its parts. It is small and focused, a good primer for the Icefjord on day two. A ticket also covers the Art Museum.

The art museum is housed in the former colonial manager's residence, built in 1923, and has been a museum since 1995. The core of the collection is the paintings of Emanuel A. Petersen, and a permanent exhibition shows his work and that of Harald Moltke, colonial-era painters, in a critical context.

That context is the point. These are the images of Greenland that Danes grew up with, and the labels ask who was looking and who was being looked at. The Ilulissat Museum is the better one if you only have time for one.

Zion Church, Zionip oqaluffia in Greenlandic, is one of the oldest buildings in town and was built between 1779 and the early 1780s. The timber church stood right at the water's edge until it was taken apart and rebuilt about 50 meters farther inland in 1929-31. Travel sources say the reason was the waves that calving icebergs can send onto the shore, which tells you something about living next to this glacier, though Danish sources don't state the reason.

You will mostly see it from outside, and whether the door is open on a given day is luck. It stands near the shore, which makes it a good place to look at the bay and see how many icebergs are in it today.

Fishing is the town's main business. The Royal Greenland plant on the harbor processes halibut and prawns landed by local fishers. In the harbor you see the small boats that bring in the catch, the pontoon where boat tours depart, and in summer the cruise ship tenders when a ship is in.

Walk along the water in the late afternoon and just look. The brightly painted houses behind you are the town, and in front the bay is full of ice of all sizes. Tour operators here sell most of the trips in this guide, so it is also where you ask about the weather and the next day's sailing.

The restaurant at Hotel Icefiord cooks with what's local: fish from local fishermen, Greenlandic reindeer, musk ox and hand-picked herbs. The menu changes with the season (crowberries, lumpfish roe and mushrooms are the kind of thing it lists), and you either build your own menu or take the 7-course signature menu. Dishes seen on past menus include mattak, fried ammassat (capelin) and poached halibut, but check what is on now.

This is a good first dinner because it gives you most of the local ingredients in one sitting, and the bar and terrace are the relaxed option. It is a hotel restaurant, so expect good cooking and hotel prices rather than a village kitchen. Book ahead in summer.

Kangiata Illorsua, the Icefjord Centre, was designed by the Danish architect Dorte Mandrup and opened on 3 July 2021. Its curved shape is inspired by the wingspan of a snowy owl in flight, and it sits at the start of the trails, a natural extension of them. It was paid for by Realdania, the Greenlandic government and Avannaata municipality.

The exhibition mixes art and science. It tells the story of the ice and the climate next to the story of how Inuit have lived with ice in Disko Bay for thousands of years. It is a good 1.5 hours, and it gives the trails more meaning. You take your shoes off inside.

The boardwalk starts at the centre and runs 1.3 km, about half an hour each way, down to the Icefjord. It is wooden all the way, with good access for wheelchairs and strollers in summer, and the easiest way to the fjord. It is the easiest and fastest way to the fjord, used by tourists and locals alike, and on a clear day the first view of the ice comes after the first bend.

Walk it slowly. The air is quiet except for the sound of ice, which in summer is a constant low crack and boom, sometimes a roar when a berg breaks. Walk out in the morning for the light and go back after lunch if you want a second look.

Sermermiut is where the boardwalk ends, and for centuries it was the biggest settlement in the area. Three hunter cultures lived in this green valley over some 4,000 years (see Sermermiut and the UNESCO site office), and the last residents moved to Ilulissat in 1850. The sheltered valley by an ice-filled bay explains why people stayed: the sea provided seals, fish and birds, and the ice provided safety.

Today you see the stones of old houses and a large view over the fjord. Stay well back from the shore. The UNESCO site office warns that calving icebergs can send waves up to 15-20 meters high, and that the beach at Sermermiut is among the most dangerous places. In 2003 a group of campers barely survived one.

The centre's café serves barista coffee and light lunch dishes, with views over the landscape. It keeps the same hours as the centre, and you can't eat food you've brought. After the walk it is the sensible place to warm up and sit down before the afternoon.

It is a modest café rather than a restaurant, and prices are what you'd expect in a remote town. The wait for a table can be long when a cruise ship is in, so time lunch before or after the busiest hour.

The red route runs 1 km from the centre to Holms Bakke, a hill with a view over the fjord, and is the shortest of the colored trails. It takes about half an hour each way over fairly easy terrain with a few climbs. From the top, the view takes in the stranded icebergs along the shore and the long line of the fjord.

It is a good way to end the afternoon because the light is usually soft, and you can either walk back to the centre or continue toward town. If the boardwalk was busy, you will find fewer people up here.

Restaurant Ulo is the fine-dining restaurant at Hotel Arctic, perched on the edge of the Icefjord. The hotel works closely with local fishers, hunters and butchers, and the menu follows the season. Dinner here is a single tasting menu of 12 to 16 courses, so this is a splurge rather than a casual dinner. Greenland is a country where the best cooking is in hotels, and this is the clearest example.

Make a reservation: without one you can't get a table, the tasting menu is prepaid and reservations are non-refundable. A far cheaper option in the same hotel is Brasserie Ulo, which serves Greenlandic specialties in an international format and has Mikkeller beer on tap. Ask the hotel about transport to and from the town center.

The night sky depends on the month. From 21 May to 24 July the sun doesn't set at all, and the nights stay bright for about a month on either side, so the evening activity is simply a walk to the shore. From September to March the northern lights show on clear nights, and the operator Albatros Arctic Circle runs a two-hour guided walk out of town to dark viewpoints, ending with Greenlandic coffee at Hotel Hvide Falk.

Nobody can guarantee the lights, even with a clear sky. If heavy cloud is forecast the tour moves to the next day, and if you can't join you get a refund. In November or February you have time for a second try on another night.

The yellow route starts at the power plant on the west side of town and runs 2.7 km to the Icefjord Centre, in 1.5 to 2 hours over fairly easy terrain with a few climbs. It takes you close to the big stranded icebergs on the Isfjeldsbanken, the shallow bank at the fjord mouth where they get stuck, and across the headland with views over Disko Bay.

For a hard day the blue route is the alternative: 6.9 km from the old quarry past Sermermiut to the centre, 4-5 hours over uneven terrain with many climbs. Most visitors choose the yellow route. Either way, finish at the centre and take a taxi back if your legs are tired.

From June to September whales feed in Disko Bay, mainly humpbacks, with minke and fin whales as well. Greenland Sea Safari runs a 2-hour trip in an open 7-passenger boat with a 360 degree view, and a small boat can get close to the animals without disturbing them. A humpback surfacing with icebergs behind it is the picture people come for.

There are no guarantees. Whale movements vary from year to year and week to week, so July and August are the better bet, and a trip that finds nothing is still a boat ride among bergs. Book a day or two in advance and keep it flexible so you can switch days if the weather turns.

The sled dog is part of the town's identity, and there are thousands of them. This one-hour visit goes to a local family's dogs, where you learn about the dogsled tradition, see the equipment and hear stories, and meet dogs that are used to people. It runs all year, and is booked on request.

The dogs here are working animals, not pets, and the visit is the right way to meet them. In winter and spring the same operator sells proper rides: 1.5 hours for 1,495 DKK (200 EUR) or 4 hours for 2,695 DKK (361 EUR), from January to April.

A kaffemik is the Greenlandic open-house coffee party: a family marks a birthday, a confirmation or another milestone with endless coffee and cake, and guests drop in and out through the day. Shoes come off at the door. You can't just turn up, but an invitation to one is how you meet people.

Without an invitation, the practical version is a booked visit. Albatros Arctic Circle runs a 1.5-hour kaffemik in a local woman's home in town, with Greenlandic specialities, coffee or tea and homemade cake, plus conversation about daily life. It runs all year and takes up to 25 people, and it is easily the most personal hour in the guide.

Hotel Hvide Falk is a central hotel with a restaurant, a lounge and a terrace, run by the same company as Albatros Arctic Circle. The restaurant serves a breakfast buffet to guests, and it is also where the northern lights tour ends with Greenlandic coffee.

It is a much more casual evening than Ulo. The hotel doesn't publish a dinner menu online, so ask at the front desk (the reception is open 6:30 am to 10 pm) whether dinner is served during your stay and what is fresh from the harbor. If it isn't, the harbor-side cafés and Hotel Icefiord are the fallback.

From May to August a late boat goes out among the icebergs in the midnight sun. Albatros runs a 2.5-hour trip, and Greenland Sea Safari a 2-hour one, both priced at 695 DKK. The sun stays high enough for golden light on the ice for hours, and the icebergs turn pink and orange.

If you pick one boat trip for the whole stay, this is the one to pick. A guide explains what you're seeing, and the captain keeps a safe distance from the bergs, which matters: icebergs roll without warning, and the UNESCO office advises a distance of at least ten times the berg's height above the water.

The boats leave from the harbor, from the pontoon decorated with whale bones, and run north through Disko Bay, passing Oqaatsut, the Paakitsoq fjord and the Ataa sound. The trip takes 3 to 5 hours each way depending on the vessel, and is half the day. Operators include Diskobay Tours (2,495 DKK, 6 hours, lunch included, minimum four people) and Greenland by Topas (2,245 DKK, about 10 hours with a guide and lunch).

Book ahead in July and August, and check which boat is running: a bigger ship is slower and more comfortable, and a smaller one is quicker and rougher.

Eqip Sermia, the Eqi glacier, is a glacier that ends in the sea, and the boats stop at a safe distance so passengers can watch it calve. The ice breaks off with a sound like thunder, a few seconds after you see the white wall move, and the swell reaches the boat shortly after. Unlike the Icefjord, where the glacier is out of sight, here you look at the ice front itself.

It is a better view of an active glacier than anything you can walk to from town, which is why people pay for the day. Stay on the boat and follow the captain's distance. Sea state and ice decide how close you can get.

Lunch is included in the Diskobay Tours and Greenland by Topas trips and is eaten on board while the boat sits in front of the glacier, with coffee, tea or cake. Overnight guests are dropped at Glacier Lodge Eqi, cabins and tents with views of the glacier, with round-trip boat transport from Ilulissat. It opens from mid-June, when the ice breaks up, to mid-September.

A night at the lodge is the way to see the glacier properly and in quiet, but it is expensive and sells out. For a day trip, the boat lunch is simple and fine.

The boat returns the same way, arriving in Ilulissat between 5 and 7 pm depending on the ship. The route passes Oqaatsut, a small village on the shore, and the bay opens to the line of stranded bergs near town. On a calm afternoon it's a good time to watch the shore and the light.

Don't schedule dinner before 8 pm, and don't plan anything strenuous for the evening. Hotel kitchens will usually serve late if you tell them in advance.

Oqaatsut is a village of about 40 people some 14 km north of Ilulissat, and was once called Rodebay, a trading post for Dutch whalers in the 1700s. The village nearly emptied after the Royal Greenland fish plant closed, and it survived because local fishermen founded a fish company in 2000.

Walk the paths between the wooden houses, the drying racks and the sled dogs, and look at the bergs that drift past in the bay. Greenland Sea Safari sells the boat shuttle for 495 DKK (minimum two people, about 30 minutes on the water), and you choose the direction when you book, so it's a one-way price: buy both directions for a round trip. In summer there is also a marked hiking route from Ilulissat, the orange trail, around 20 km and 6-7 hours each way, which you can combine with the shuttle for one leg.

The classic trip is a 2-hour boat ride to the mouth of the Icefjord. Greenland Sea Safari lists a daytime trip for 695 DKK in a small 7-passenger boat. Whether a boat goes in deep winter depends on the sea ice, which can close the bay, and conditions change from day to day, so ask the operator for winter dates.

The UNESCO site office says sailing in the fjord mouth is usually possible all year, except in particularly cold winters when sea ice covers Disko Bay. The ice looks different in each season, so repeat it if you've done the midnight version.

Café Iluliaq is a few minutes' walk from the harbor, and it is the ordinary place in town to sit down with coffee and cake. OpenStreetMap lists it as open daily from 10:30 to 21:00, but hours shift with the season, so check before you plan around it.

About 150 meters away, on the way back toward the harbor, stands a memorial to Knud Rasmussen, the explorer you met in the museum on day one. It's a small stop, but it ends the circle: you started the trip at his birthplace, and finish it by the same bay.

Brasserie Ulo in Hotel Arctic is the relaxed sibling of the fine-dining restaurant, with Greenlandic specialties in an international format and Mikkeller beer on tap (six taps). It is a good place to try the Greenlandic coffee, a drink of coffee, whiskey, Kahlua and Grand Marnier under whipped cream, set alight before you drink it.

A last dinner here, looking over the fjord, is a fitting end. If you fly out the next day, remember that no public bus to the airport is listed: ask the hotel to arrange transport or call a taxi (Ilulissat Taxa, +299 94 49 44).