Tasiilaq and East Greenland

East Greenland is separated from the rest of the country by the ice sheet and from the world by the East Greenland Current, which drags pack ice down the coast most of the year. Tasiilaq, the main settlement, sits in a sheltered fjord beneath serrated peaks, its coloured houses scattered across rock with no roads leading anywhere beyond town. Behind it the Valley of Flowers opens into tundra that blooms briefly and intensely in July. Boats thread between icebergs to abandoned settlements and glacier fronts, and in late winter the region becomes one of the world's great ski-touring destinations, with peaks rising straight from frozen sea.

What's there

• The Valley of Flowers - the tundra valley behind Tasiilaq in July bloom.
• Boat trips among icebergs - fjord routes to glacier fronts and settlements.
• Kulusuk village - the island community by the airstrip, with drum dancing.
• Ski touring season - spring peaks and glacier descents to the sea.

When to go

Summer from late June to early September gives boat access, hiking and midnight light. Late winter and spring, roughly February to April, is ski-touring season with stable snow. Pack ice can block boat routes at short notice in any summer week.

Good to know

Travel here is expensive, weather-dependent and genuinely uncertain - helicopters and boats are cancelled by fog and ice regularly, and itineraries need slack days. Facilities are limited: one hotel and guesthouses in Tasiilaq, little else. Polar bears are a real consideration outside town and guides carry rifles for good reason. Visitors should also arrive aware that these are small communities facing hard social realities, not a wilderness backdrop.

Nearby

Kulusuk, Sermilik fjord and the abandoned settlement of Ikateq.