Kangerlussuaq

Inland Greenland airfield settlement with road access to tundra, musk oxen, and the ice sheet.

Kangerlussuaq is a strange and useful place: a former military airfield at the head of a long fjord, far inland by Greenland standards, with open tundra on one side and the ice sheet reachable by road on the other. Many travellers pass through the airport and leave, which is a mistake if they have a day to spare.

The attraction is not the settlement itself but what sits around it. You can reach the Greenland Ice Sheet, Russell Glacier, and tundra valleys where musk oxen and caribou are possible, sometimes all without the logistics that make other Greenland trips hard.

Kangerlussuaq is also the eastern end of the Arctic Circle Trail, the classic long walk to Sisimiut. Even if you are not hiking for a week, the first stretches give a quick taste of Greenland beyond airports and fjord towns.

Guide

Things to Do

Kangerlussuaq is for ice, tundra, and Arctic logistics. The settlement is plain, but the road toward the ice sheet and the hiking country toward Sisimiut make it one of Greenland's easiest places to get into big empty landscapes.

Guide

When to Go

Summer, roughly late June to mid-September, is best for hiking, cycling the ice road, and starting the Arctic Circle Trail. Winter brings northern lights, dog sledding, and colder, clearer weather, but daylight and conditions are much less forgiving.