Iqaluit to Nuuk

Iqaluit is the capital of Canada’s newest territory Nunavut which is Inuktitut for “our land”. The community is located at the head of Frobisher Bay an inlet of the North Atlantic extending into southeastern Baffin Island. Frobisher Bay is so long that it was first taken to be the possible entrance of a Northwest Passage. During World War II the area at the end of the bay was chosen as the site of an airbase, which eventually led to attract the Hudson Bay Company and the Inuit to settling nearby. From a settlement in 1970 it turned into a village in 1974 and a town in 1980. Elected as the capital of the future Territory of Nunavut in 1995 it now has the status of a city and holds almost 20% of Nunavut's population. In Iqaluit the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum houses an incredible collection of Inuit artwork with interesting local prints and carvings for sale in the museum shop. Just west of Iqaluit is the Sylvia Grinnell Territorial Park, an area with a number of hiking trails quite frequented by the local population to fish for Arctic char in the Sylvia Grinnell River.

The Lower Savage Islands are a small group of islands off of the southeastern tip of Baffin Island and a common location for polar bears to be found during the summer months. With plenty of land to roam while giving each other a wide berth plus opportunities to feed it seems perhaps bears can be found here as the ice vanishes with the summer season’s warming temperatures.

Monumental Island is a splinter of ancient metamorphic rock, hunching in the frigid waters of the Davis Strait, defying the ocean and ice around it. Named to honour the legendary Polar Explorer Sir John Franklin, the island displays at times displays everything Nunavut has to offer, in an ocean studded with vast icebergs drifting across from Greenland. Monumental Island is a well known den site for polar bears, the icon of the Arctic; there is a good chance to see mother bears with cubs on the island, as the bears become trapped by the lack of summer ice, using the island as a base to hunt until the ice returns in the Autumn. Seeing the white silhouette of a polar bear against the ancient black rock and autumn tundra colours is an experience that will remain long after returning on board. Groups of harp seals are a common sight in the waters around Monumental Island, and can be very curious, often swimming very close to investigate new objects such as boats. There are several sites on the island also used as haul out sites for the charismatic Atlantic Walrus. These vast animals are surprisingly gentle and skittish, and can often be observed caring for their calves on the rock bluffs while keeping a careful watch for polar bears. Almost nowhere else in Nunavut can the charismatic wildlife of the Arcticbe observed in such a stunning setting.

The lonely and uninhabited Lady Franklin Island lies off of Baffin Island’s Hall Peninsula at the entrance to Cumberland Sound. The island is named for the widow of Sir John Franklin, the Arctic explorer who died trying to discover the Northwest Passage. The geology of the island is striking with vertical cliffs of Archean rocks, likely to be some of the oldest stone in Canada. The waters around Lady Franklin Island offer an abundance of seabirds, ducks, seals, and walrus. With a bit of luck it is possible to see Atlantic Puffins here.

Located at the heart of Nunavut, on Baffin Island’s Cumberland Peninsula, Auyuittuq National Park offers you one of the most beautiful and striking landscapes in Canada. Large valleys and steep-walled fjords surrounded by a skyline of irregular peaks and massive glaciers, exactly how you would picture the Arctic.

Auyuittuq homes little vegetation, however, you can however spot some arctic wildlife species in these stunning and serene landscapes. Arctic foxes, caribou, lemmings, snow geese, ermines, but also polar bears and many bird species like peregrine falcons can be observed. Several cetaceans species frequent the surrounding waters of the island, narwhals, beluga whales and orcas being the most likely to be seen. The coasts of the island are a haven for many seabirds like the king eider or the little auk.

Established a national park in 1972, Auyuittuq holds an extremely important place in Canada’s history due to its location. Many civilisations visited Auyuittuq since the first people settled during the Stone Age, noting the ideal conditions for whaling. Among them, Norse and English explorers but also the Inuit, a people that left his mark on the island and all the Nunavut region. Auyuittuq means “The Land That Never Melts” in Inuktitut, the national park’s land being covered by the huge Penny Ice Glacier.]

Known as the birthplace of icebergs the Ilulissat Icefjord produces nearly 20 million tons of ice each day. In fact the word Ilulissat means “icebergs” in the Kalaallisut language. The town of Ilulissat is known for its long periods of calm and settled weather but the climate tends to be cold due to its proximity to the fjord. Approximately 4 500 people live in Ilulissat the third-largest town in Greenland after Nuuk and Sisimiut. Some people here estimate that there are nearly as many sled dogs as human beings living in the town that also boasts a local history museum located in the former home of Greenlandic folk hero and famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen.

Sisimiut ('The People of the Fox Holes') is Greenland's second city, the largest Arctic City in North America, and a hub between the warmer South and the frozen North of the country. With a young, dynamic population, including students from all over the country, Sisimiut is one of the fastest growing cities in Greenland. Inhabited for more than four and a half thousand years, the Danish Colonial Era saw the rapid development of the city into a trade centre, and the old buildings and artefacts can be seen at Sisimiut Museum, a collection of beautifully restored buildings displaying everything from ancient turf houses to modern Inuit art. The local artisans are considered some of the best in Greenland, and often sell their wares direct from their communal workshop in the harbour, where they barter with hunters for raw materials. Today, modern industry focussed on processing sea food and shipping; KNI, the state-run chain of general stores operating in even the most remote settlements is based in Sisimiut. Most residents still live in the colourful wooden houses Greenland is so well known for. Sisimiut's vast back country offers excellent opportunities for hiking and fishing, and the locals often use sled dogs or snowmobiles to get around their vast mountainous playground during the long winters. In the summer, one can walk as far as Kangerlussuaq International Airport, a trail also used for the gruelling Polar Circle Marathon, one of the toughest endurance events in the world.

Evighedsfjord (Eternity Fjord) is a large fjord northeast of Kangaamiut in southwest Greenland. The fjord has a length of 75 kilometers and several branches with numerous glaciers coming down from the Maniitsoq Ice Cap to the north can be seen. The Evighedsfjord has several bends and whenever the ship reaches the supposed end the fjord continues in another direction and seems to go on forever. Qingua Kujatdleq Glacier is at its southeastern end. At the northwestern end a U-shaped valley has seven glaciers coming down from the mountains but not reaching the water. The glaciers had their maximum extent around the year 1870 and have gone through several cycles of advance and retreat. The mountains on either side of the fjord can reach in excess of 2,000 meters and the fjord has a depth of up to 700 meters. Evighedsfjord’s snowline is at 1,100 meters and the Evighedsfjord region is famous as one of Greenland’s best heli-skiing areas.

In the bustling capital city of Greenland, you could be forgiven for forgetting you are in such a vast and isolated country. Nuuk is Greenland's economic and social hub, home to more than a third of Greenland's population, and although it feels like a world capital, scratch the surface, and a uniquely Greenlandic character can be found underneath. Nuuk Cathedral overlooks the gorgeous old Colonial Harbour district and the Greenland National Museum, resting place of the legendary Qilakitsoq mummies, the true highlight of the museum's archaeological collection. Above the Colonial Harbour sits downtown Nuuk, with lines of Scandistyle apartments, a bustling shopping district, the Greenlandic Parliament, Nuuk City Hall (which welcomes visitors to see its artwork) and even outdoor cafes selling locally produced food and beer. These nods to modernity compete for space with local artisan boutiques, the meat market selling the catch from Nuuk's vast fjord-lands, and the stunning Katuaq Cultural Centre, where blockbuster movies, as well as local and foreign performers entertain the people of Nuuk. Although Nuuk has long been a melting pot of Danish and Greenlandic ideas, this is a city where Greenland displays its sophistication, with the Country's only traffic lights, roundabouts and University. Most of all, expect to find a multitude of friendly people who are proud of who they are, and equally proud of the city they call home.