The hook
A fjord choked with icebergs the size of buildings and city blocks, calved from one of the fastest-moving glaciers on Earth, drifting out to sea past a small Inuit town under the midnight sun or the northern lights.
01Why it's worth it
The Ilulissat Icefjord, on Greenland's west coast well inside the Arctic Circle, is one of the most spectacular natural sights on the planet and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here the Greenland Ice Sheet, the vast ice cap that covers most of the island, drains through the Jakobshavn Glacier, one of the fastest-flowing and most productive glaciers on Earth, which calves enormous quantities of ice into the fjord. The result is astonishing: the fjord is jammed with a slow-moving armada of colossal icebergs, some hundreds of metres long and towering high above the water (with far more hidden below), that grind seaward and out into the bay, groaning, cracking, and occasionally rolling with a roar. You can walk the boardwalks and coastal trails to overlook this river of ice, or, better, take a boat out among the bergs to feel their scale, glowing white and blue in the low Arctic light. The nearby town of Ilulissat is a base steeped in Inuit culture and history, with dog-sledding still a way of life. Under the summer midnight sun or the winter aurora, and as a front-row seat to the ice sheet and a changing climate, Ilulissat is unforgettable, the essence of Arctic Greenland.
02How to experience it
Fly in to Ilulissat and walk the icefjord boardwalks and trails for the overlooks, then take a boat trip out among the icebergs (and, in season, whale-watching) to feel their scale. Experience the Inuit town and dog-sledding culture. Summer brings the midnight sun and boat access; winter brings aurora and snow.