8/9/25: Our World Heritage Walk to Ilulissat's Icefjord

Steven and I arrived late the previous afternoon by ferry in Ilulissat,  located in Disko Bay, the largest open bay on Greenland's west coast. As I mentioned in the last post about our exciting tour of the icebergs just off the town's shore, it's the icebergs that draw people to Ilulissat, making it the country's most important tourism destination. As the town is built on a rocky promontory rising from a hill overlooking the bay, icebergs can be seen from almost anywhere in Ilulissat. 

Just south of town is the Ilulissat Icefjord, one of Greenland's four UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which encompasses the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier. Icebergs from the glacier fill the 34-mile-long icefjord as they slowly float out to sea. 

As we walked toward the Icefjord and its Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, we were distracted by the cacophony of Greenlandic sled dogs howling in the valley. We heard the dogs before seeing any, only noticing their telltale blue water bins at first. That was what made me look for the dogs.

Having just witnessed a superior sled dog operation in Qeqertarsauq a couple of days earlier, these dogs didn't appear to be as well-kept.

Two escapees, as there was no fence and no one was watching over the puppies!

Within minutes, we came across an enclosure on the opposite side of the road belonging to Arctic Living Ilulissat Sled Dogs Center. Strangely, I didn't see a sign in either Greenlandic or Danish.

Ilulissat, Greenland's third-largest town, has a population of 5,000 people and 3,000 dogs, the latter being the lifeblood of the community. The dogs are not allowed to live near the homes; they are only allowed outside town, by the Ilulissat Icefjord Centre, which we were headed to. I read that the dog-sledding season used to last much longer, but because the climate is getting warmer, it now runs only from November to April, rather than from mid-October to June. 

The Ilulissat Icefjord is considered outstanding worldwide because it contains one of the world's most productive glaciers, surpassed only by Antarctica's glaciers. One of the world's most concentrated fishing operations also takes place near the fjord's mouth, where Greenland halibut are harvested. The icefjord was inscribed on the UNESCO list in 2004 for its unique glacial landscape and outstanding natural beauty. It seemed appropriate that Ilulissat, lying 155 miles north of the Arctic Circle, means 'iceberg ' in Greenlandic.

Greenland's ice cap, which covers almost the entire country, is about 1.8 miles thick at its center. Think of the mass of ice as slowly flowing toward the lowest points. The approximately 3,000 ft. deep Ilulissat Icefjord continues a long way beneath the ice cap. Once or twice a year, at the front of the glacier, the ice cap will break up or ‘calve,’ a term used to describe when a large portion of ice detaches from either a glacier or an iceberg and drops into the sea as icebergs. It was staggering to think that the annual iceberg production of the Ilulissat Icefjord is enough to cover the US's yearly water consumption!

The Ilulissat Icefjord Centre was the first of six planned visitor centers across the country. Following an international architectural competition, the stunning piece of modern architecture was designed by (surprise, surprise) Danish architect Dorte Mandrup and opened in 2021. We entered the museum, but were surprised to have to remove our shoes, and aghast at the $45 per person admission fee. I think the latter colored our impression of the meager exhibits that looked like they were 'frozen' in blocks of ice. However, I did like the description of the country's glaciers as "global warming highways."

The glacier, one of the most active in the world, flows up to 130 feet per day. The Icefjord has sustained the lives of many people for thousands of years because of its natural wealth, created by the glacier's oceanic conditions. The ice, studied by researchers for centuries, now provides critical insights into changes in the climate and atmosphere over time. When UNESCO gave it protected status in 2004, the intent was to preserve the area's "uniqueness and impressive natural phenomena." The Icefjord is the first place in the Arctic to be inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Yes, the centre's roof was designed to be walked on! I had a blast doing it on our return from the Icefjord.

The World Heritage Trail led from the centre to the shore of the Icefjord. We were cautioned never to step off the boardwalk, as once tourism increased in Greenland at the end of the 1990s, authorities noticed a severe wear and tear on the sparse Arctic vegetation. Since the boardwalk was built to minimize damage, the local vegetation is now recovering. 

We later observed some older footpaths that were still visible because of the slow growth of the vegetation. It was likewise not permitted to step off the boardwalk and use these paths.  

Geology: Once we passed the cairn, we entered the protected UNESCO World Heritage Site of Ilulissat Icefjord and noticed many unique rock formations. The old bedrock consisted of granite and gneiss, rock types that formed deep underground over millions of years. After the last ice age ended approximately 10,000 years ago, the ice receded to the edge of Greenland's current coastline. Striations on the rock surface indicate that huge masses of ice rubbed and worn it, making it smooth. 

Flora: Though the arctic vegetation in the Sermermiut Valley appeared at first glance to be extremely sparse, there was in fact a great variety of species. However, the vegetation's growing season is short, lasting only four to five months when there is no snow cover. In that brief time, plants must complete their annual growth cycle. I read that local people gather, preserve, and eat many crowberries and blueberries over the winter. I wonder how they collect them in this valley, given the strict no-wandering rule.

I read that one of the more unusual species was Moss Campion, which begins to bloom toward the sun, and during the season, the flowering continues up the plant, ending at the north side. That meant that people could use Moss Campion as a kind of compass to always locate the direction of geographical north by looking at the blooms! 

Unfortunately, due to UNESCO protections, we couldn't even pick out the Moss Campion from the boardwalk.

Wildlife: We learned that the variety of wildlife in the valley varies significantly throughout the year, with some living their whole lives here and others that only come to visit in the summer. Although we looked closely, we couldn't spot any small mammals such as hares or foxes, likely because the latter are up early and retire to their dens during the day. 

Not long ago, ravens, snowy owls, and ptarmigans were the only birds that overwintered here. With the climate warming, more small birds now stay over the winter. If we'd visited in May, we would have seen Canada geese in the valley grasslands foraging after the spring migration and moving towards the inland lakes to breed before summer really sets in.

The Settlement: This plain provided an optimal settlement area for Paleo-Inuit and Thule Culture Inuit at different times over the past several thousand years. Because of the tall grass in the middle of summer and the prohibition on venturing off the boardwalk, it was impossible to spot the ruins. Still, we took it as faith that the youngest house ruins at Sermermiut date to 1850, right around the time the last residents moved up to Ilulissat. Back then, people lived in small square houses built of peat and stone, heated by oil burned in a soapstone lamp. The oil came from the blubber of sea mammals. 

Winter houses generally covered an area of 108-130 square feet, but the thick walls of turf and stone made the insides of the dwelling much smaller. A family consisting of parents, children, and sometimes grandparents would typically live in a winter house. A rule for each house was that there had to be at least one hunter who could provide food, skins, and blubber. The woman had an equally important role in the house and was responsible for cooking, keeping the lamp lit, and sewing and mending the family’s clothing. 

Once spring arrived, families would set up a tent and travel to where special game animals could be hunted and harvested. In the summer, families would move inland to hunt caribou and fish for trout. Late in the fall, families would return to Sermermiut and resume their winter life.

Further down the boardwalk, we learned about the Communal House, a dwelling in use from 1600 to 1850. As you'd expect, several families lived there together, with each having its own cooking area, a urinal tub, and a sleeping platform used by all family members. These little “apartments” were typically separated by large sealskin partitions hung from the ceiling.

The advantages of families living together included that, in times of poor hunting, it was easier to share food, whether from the day's catch or the summer caches. Also, if one family ran out of blubber for its lamp, the ambient heat from the other families' lamps would still keep the house's temperature above freezing.

The communal house, like the smaller square house, was also only a winter house. In the spring, the roof was removed, which allowed rain, sun, and wind to clean the inside of the house! When families returned in the fall, a new roof was put on, and the house was used again.

Although the water seemed placid, a sign warned people of the extreme danger of walking on the beach due to sudden tsunami waves triggered by calving icebergs. 

As we continued down the boardwalk and got closer to the beach, we learned about Greenland's Stone Age Culture, which was closely linked to Sermermiut. In the 1950s, archaeological excavations revealed cultural layers that provided a better understanding of Greenland's prehistory. Approximately eight feet below the surface of Sermermiut is an ancient cultural layer containing tools and remains from the Saqqaq culture. 

The following may be familiar to those of you who read AND remember my post about the Greenland National Museum and Archives in Nuuk! The Saqqaq culture, one of the first peoples to settle Greenland, migrated across the Canadian High Arctic and arrived in Northwest Greenland via Ellesmere Island approximately 4,500 years ago, living in tents year-round. Their dwellings are recognized by scientists as having stone box hearths located in the middle of the tent ring, which provided heat, light, and food. The Saqqaq culture spread across almost all of Greenland’s ice-free areas, flourishing until about 1,000 BC.

Their culture was followed by another Paleo-Inuit group, the Dorset culture, which also used stone tools with flint-like properties. This culture also spread across most of Greenland and was present from 800 BC until the beginning of the first millennium AD. After the Dorset, Sermermiut remained unoccupied for over a thousand years.  Around 1300 AD, the Thule Culture Inuit settled in the valley and continued living there until the middle of the 1800s. The present-day Greenlandic population is a direct descendant of the Thule Culture Inuit. 

Once again, no evidence from any of these cultures was visible to us as we walked along the boardwalk.

As we headed up the stairs and reached the lookout, we had a fantastic view of the ice. This spot was connected to a local legend about the Thule Culture Inuit practice of suicide. 

The Drop-Off Cliff was also known as the place where you threw yourself into the sea. Though it sounded violent to us, it was nevertheless a natural part of the Inuit's life in the past. If a person became a burden to the group, due to a disability or old age, and was no longer able to walk longer distances, the practice was to choose to commit suicide by throwing oneself into the sea. Don't forget that the Inuit were semi-nomadic peoples who traveled long distances from one seasonal camp to the next. As a result, mobility was critical for everyone. From ancient times, the community and the group were crucial. Consequently, it was essential for the individual to prioritize the well-being of the group and the community over their own.

From that morose stop, we stood at the iceberg bank at the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord, and gazed at ice as far as the eye could see. The ice we saw was once part of the Sermeq Kujalleq, or Southern Glacier, about 40 miles to the east. The ice formed as several feet of snow accumulated on the ice sheet each year, creating such high pressure that the ice crystals pressed together into solid ice. 

The dynamics of the ice and the rock bed underneath create a series of ice streams. Think of it like rivers of ice flowing from the interior to the ice edge, where large blocks break off the glacier, creating icebergs. Ilulissat Icefjord contains the most significant ice stream in the Northern Hemisphere, with an estimated 10 cubic miles of ice produced each year. 

We could have sat there for hours watching the ice move in front of our eyes, and admiring the spectacular shapes that seemed to rearrange themselves every few moments. What a mesmerizing sight!

If you click on the picture to make it bigger, you'll notice a smallish boat in the foreground and a cruise ship in the background.

We tore ourselves away and began walking back along the boardwalk toward the Ilulissat Icefjord Centre. Steven felt safer staying on the boardwalk, but I wanted to be more adventurous and climbed up the centre's roof. This was the first time he'd taken a picture of me while I was taking one of him!

There was, of course, the obligatory sign about walking on the roof at your own risk, and that it could only be done under certain weather conditions.

Too bad that the museum's interior didn't match the revolutionary exterior!

Seeing the daisies near the centre, I thought of our five-year-old granddaughter, Clara, in Chicago, who has a fondness for them.

Nearby was a cemetery, where we learned that Inuit burial sites had been found scattered across the mountains, dating back to before Christianity was introduced to Greenland in the 18th century. 140 graves were registered in this area, with each possibly containing several bodies. The dead were frequently laid to rest in a beautiful location like this with panoramic views. That was one way the Inuit showed great respect for the dead. Before the Christian period, the Inuit believed that a person consisted of three elements: a body, a soul, and a name. When a loved one died, the soul continued to a world either in the sky or in the sea. Both were considered equally good places and were not confused with other religions' conceptions of a heaven above and a hell below.

The body of the dead was buried and returned to the earth. However, the tradition of passing on a person's name to a newborn so the elder lives on is still used by some people in Greenland. 

With the introduction of Christianity during the 18th and 19th centuries, the use of coffins became more common. In some cases, coffins were found in 17th-century graves that may have belonged to European whalers and merchants who came here in the early colonial period.

Later that afternoon, while Steven rested, I walked down to the Inuit Artists' Workshop to see where craftspeople primarily made tupilaks, originally figures in Inuit mythology, created by a shaman to harm an enemy. Nowadays, a tupilak means a style of Inuit carving, often made from bone, antler, or wood, that depicts mythical creatures. These modern carvings bear little resemblance to their powerful, secret, original forms. 

I enjoyed buying directly from the artist, unlike most of the other tupilaks we'd purchased in other towns earlier in our trip.

That evening, we walked to a different part of Ilulissat to find the statue of the famed explorer and anthropologist Knud Rasmussen, considered a folk hero in both Greenland and Denmark.

On our way, I smiled as I watched young boys playing outdoors late at night.

Rasmussen, born in Ilulissat in 1879 to a Danish missionary father and a Greenlandic mother of Inuit and Danish descent, was immersed in Inuit culture from an early age. Growing up with local children, he learned the local language and traditions. After receiving a rifle and a dog sled from his father at age 8, he spent time with hunters and fishermen, acquiring the skills needed to survive in the Arctic. What a culture shock it must have been for him when his parents moved to Copenhagen when he was 12. After his university studies, he had an unsuccessful career as an actor and opera singer before working as a journalist for a Danish newspaper. 

Befriending a Danish explorer, Ludvig Myllus-Erichsen, the two soon began planning a joint expedition to travel to remote northwest Greenland to study Inuit culture. For two years, they lived among the Inuit culture, collecting myths, legends, and stories that had never been written down before. The result was Rasmussen's book, The People of the Polar North, published in 1908. For more on Rasmussen, read the next post!

Next post: A guided boat ride and hike to tiny Oqaatsut and touring two of Ilulissat's museums.

Posted on November 8th, 2025, from our home in Denver, where we keep expecting a frost and snow to fall, as this is the latest date in decades that we've not had a spell of nasty weather. Believe me, few people are complaining about the still-sunny, warm weather day in and day out! I hope that you are enjoying life where you are and taking care of yourself and your loved ones.