The Great Greenland Expedition Cruise

Our private flight takes us over the volcanic landscapes of Iceland before reaching the east coast in about two hours, where it is carved out of basalts and granites emerging from the ice cap. Boarding at Constable Point.

The village of Ittoqqortoormiit was established in 1925 at the entrance to the largest fjord in the world, through the displacement of Inuit families from Tasiilaq/Ammassalik and the West Coast. Wildlife was abundant due to the vast winter polynya, and the settlement was a real success; the village will celebrate its centenary in 2025. During the visit, we will discover the museum, sled dogs, the 200 or so colorful houses that shelter the 350 inhabitants, the church, and traditional tents and clothing.Statues of Ejnar Mikkelsen and Commander Charcot recall the times of colonization by the Inuit. Located nearly 500 kilometers from any other human settlement, the village lives off hunting, tourism, and state aid, serving as a gateway to the largest national park in the world.

We will enter Barclay or Nansen Bay to zigzag between the icebergs and reach the front of the glaciers that flow into the sea in a superb bay.Seals often rest on the drifting ice, and we will be at the foot of impressive cliffs carved into basalt and granite. This coast is named in memory of Jules Poret de Blosseville, commander of a French brig with a crew of 83 men, the Lilloise, who disappeared in these waters without a trace in 1833, despite several search expeditions.We will then sail in the shadow of the Rigny mountain range, then towards Gunnbjornfjellet (3,692 meters above sea level), the highest peak in the Arctic, in waters protected due to the shy populations of narwhals and white whales.

North of Sermiligaaq, the Steenstrup glaciers reach the sea from the ice cap. We will meander between the ice, with a landing near a superb glacial lake that traps the icebergs calved by the glacier. The landscape is of icebergs and high mountains. This region is close to Mont Forel (3,400 meters above sea level), discovered by a Swiss expedition.Seals and polar bears frequent these places.

The town of 2,000 inhabitants, formerly Ammassalik, concentrates the largest population on the entire east coast of Greenland. It was the center of the Inuit hunting communities scattered throughout the region, and the Danes established a post there in 1894. Set in a superb location between two beautiful Sermilik fjords, the town is surrounded by high mountains and is the starting point for expeditions that cross the ice cap on foot.In 1934, Commander Charcot dropped off 4 explorers there for a great crossing of the ice cap, including Robert Gessain, who would lay the foundations of French Inuit anthropological research, and Paul Émile Victor, who later shared his fascinating stories about the Inuit. Visit the city, with its sled dogs and museum. A helicopter flight is possible.

An exceptional setting—perhaps the most impressive—with a fjord cluttered with giant icebergs. Over more than 200 kilometers, immense glaciers flow into the sea from the ice cap in an icy chaos that crowds between peaks rising around 1,500 meters high.Bears and seals roam, and whale watching (rorquals, humpback whales, and orcas) is frequent in these rich waters. Discovered in 1828 by the Graah expedition, this fjord sees four very active glaciers flow into the sea, blocking the fjord with thousands of icebergs in domes, tabular, arched, and peak shapes.We will try to reach the island of solitude to observe these spectacles from above. The great Lindenow Fjord is 64 kilometers long and cuts through a landscape of walls such as Apostolen, which rises 2,291 meters high.Several glaciers flow into it, giving rise to large icebergs. Navigation in these extraordinary landscapes. Depending on the weather conditions and presence of icy fjords, we could navigate the Gyldenlove Fjord or the sheltered waters overlooked by the 2,000-meter-high alpine peaks of Skoldungen.

This spectacular strait, covered by ice for most of the year, zigzags over about 100 kilometers, sometimes only 500 meters wide. Stop at the village of Aapilatoq (130 inhabitants), enclosed in its corset of high mountains.

In the country's 4th largest city, with its 3,200 inhabitants, visit the city museum and tannery. Visit the site of Hvalsey, where the Vikings built a church, whose ruins are still visible and preserved, and around which their colonization of South-West Greenland was organized until the middle of the 15th century.Helicopter flight possible.

Ascending the West Coast, passing icebergs and whales while in the distance, the ice cap rises on the horizon.

We are in the capital of Greenland (19,000 inhabitants). The region was inhabited by the Vikings from the 10th century and was founded in 1729. Visit the city (cathedral, statue of Hans Egede, museum).The city, which brings together a third of Greenland's population, is the northernmost capital in the world and the political, economic, and cultural seat of Greenland. Tall buildings, traffic lights, and bus services make it a city that will not disorient us much. There are possibilities for aerial excursions by helicopter, for drops on the ice cap, or by plane for panoramic flights over the glaciers and the ice cap.

On the way to the ice capital, we pass the Arctic Circle and the towns of Sisimiut and Aasiat.

Arrival in Ilulissat, the capital of ice. It is the 3rd largest city in Greenland, founded in 1741, and houses the museum of the explorer Knud Rasmussen and the ice information center, which we will visit.Hike in the tundra with an exceptional view of the Isfjord, cluttered with giant icebergs over more than 60 kilometers.The 160 km long glacier advances more than 25 meters per day, creating one of the most extraordinary sites, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.There is the possibility of flying over the ice field towards the Ilulissat glacier. Excursions to the icebergs are available. A possible continuation towards the Eqi glacier, coming from the ice cap, offers a very active front.It was in the bay that Paul Emile Victor and the French Polar Expeditions landed between 1948 and 1958 to study the ice cap and cross it.

Private flight from Ilulissat, crossing the Greenland ice cap, and arriving in Reykjavik.

Our itineraries are dependent on weather and ice conditions.