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Day trip to Saqqaq settlement

  • Insight into 4500 years of cultural history

    Day trip to Saqqaq settlement

Day trip to Saqqaq settlement

With lunch from Hotel Arctic

We go on a cultural-historical trip to an area that gives an insight into both village life, social development and beautiful nature. The village of Saqqaq ("Sunny Side") is located approximately 100 km north of Ilulissat on the south side of the Nuussuaq peninsula, facing the 20 km wide strait between Disko Island and the Nuussuaq peninsula.

The settlement was founded in 1755, but its history goes back thousands of years. This is where archaeologists found the first tools from the Saqqaq culture. The settlement has also given its name to the culture that has inhabited Greenland for the longest uninterrupted period from 2500 – BC. to 800 BC The Saqqaq people managed to adapt to the area and survive by catching and fishing animals.

We go ashore in the village to see and hear about the many historical places. We experience daily life and talk to local fishermen and trappers, who can tell both about daily life in the village, fishing for halibut and the stories connected to the area. You are invited to kaffemik, which is a special Greenlandic tradition, where families open their homes when there is something to celebrate.

On the way to and from Saqqaq, we sail past the former settlement of Ritenbenk, which has not been inhabited since 1960.

For lunch we enjoy food brought from Hotel Arctic's renowned kitchen.

Duration approx. 6-8 hours

Book a trip - day trip to the village of Saqqaq

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The green fields mark that it is possible to book a trip.

Price: DKK 2,675.00 / person

There must be a minimum of 8 participants for the tour to take place.

Meeting place: Tourist ponton on the north side of the harbour – at Halibut Greenland. We meet 10 min. before departure.

Remember to bring warm outerwear that can be cold on the water, regardless of the sun's rays. Remember sunscreen, sunglasses and camera.

Other trips – inquire about the possibilities

Ilimanaq
The boat trip to Ilimanaq lasts a good hour. A lot has happened in the small settlement in recent years. Several of the old colonial houses have been carefully renovated, and gastronomy in a special class has moved to the island with Restaurant KOKS, which has no less than two Michelin stars. The village has 90 inhabitants and gives a good insight into the 18th century colonial times and prisoner culture. On the return trip, we again sit on the first floor of the large icebergs when we pass the mouth of the icefjord.

Qasigiannguit
We head south to Qasigiannguit in the south-eastern part of Disko Bay. The town is colorful with a green hinterland of mountains, valleys and tundra, and here is Greenland's oldest wooden house from 1734. In summer, the temperature can reach 27 degrees, and many plants benefit from this. In autumn, it teems with blueberries, lingonberries and blackberries plus a few hundred other plant species. On the sailing trip home, there are good chances of spotting whales, because this is precisely where they love to frolic.

Oqaatsut (Rodebay)
Coffee with the locals and heather-roasted seal meat. Does that sound tempting? Then take the boat trip to Oqaatsut – Ilulissat's smallest settlement with just 30 people. We go ashore, get a tour and a wonderful lunch before the trip back to Ilulissat.

Uummannaq
Uummannaq - perhaps North Greenland's most beautiful town with its many colorful houses scattered over the hilly terrain - is located on a 12 square kilometer island at the foot of the 1,175 meter high heart-shaped mountain. Here we experience the whole of Greenland in one place: midnight sun, dogs and sleds, ice, whales, bird flocks and a friendly population. We visit the town with the beautiful church, take a trip to a disused settlement, take a closer look at one of the area's nine glaciers, get close to the steep cliff sides with lots of birds. If we are lucky, we will also meet Santa Claus. In any case, the trip goes past his cabin. Close to Uummannaq is an old winter settlement Qilakitsoq, where in 1972 the mummies of six adults and two children were found - the oldest known find of well-preserved people and costumes in the entire Arctic cultural circle.

Upernavik
Upernavik is Greenland's second most northerly city: 72 degrees north, narwhals, beluga whales, polar bears, the world's largest bird rock and summer with sun around the clock. As many as 100 islands can be found in the vicinity of Upernavik, and if we have enough time, it is worth trying a trip in a kayak in the mirror-clear water. No Greenlandic town is without a museum – so neither is Upernavik, which has the world's northernmost open-air museum. Narwhals, beluga whales, seals and polar bears are the prisoners' prey in Upernavik.

Qaanaaq
Qaanaaq by Thule is Greenland's northernmost town and from here it is only 30 km to Canada. It is unlike any other Greenlandic town, as it lies there and slopes flat down towards the sea. Here are winding roads where the small houses are lined up. Here we get very close to the Greenlandic Inuit culture. Further north lies the settlement of Siorapaluk - one of the world's northernmost settlements. Experience sea kings in their millions - the area is known for its bird migrations.