Ivittuut

Ivittuut held the only natural cryolite deposit ever worked at scale, a mineral essential to aluminium smelting before synthetic substitutes, and it was mined from 1854 until 1987, at which point the ore was exhausted and the town was abandoned. The buildings, the flooded open pit and the harbour installations remain. Musk oxen introduced to the area now wander through the empty streets, which is the image most people take away. A naval base operated alongside the mine through the Second World War, when the cryolite supply was considered strategic enough to be guarded by American troops for the duration.

What you actually see

• The flooded pit - the open working left when the cryolite ran out.
• The abandoned town - the buildings left standing after 1987.
• The musk oxen - the introduced animals now wandering the empty streets.
• The cryolite story - the only natural deposit of the mineral worked at scale.

When to go

June to September is the boat season. There is no scheduled service and charters must be arranged. Winter access is not practical.

Honest expectations

There is no scheduled transport and charters are expensive. The buildings are derelict and unsafe. There are no facilities of any kind.

Nearby

Paamiut is north, and Nuuk is beyond it.