Kangerlussuaq and the Ice Sheet Edge

Kangerlussuaq exists because of an old American air base, and its runway remains a main gateway to Greenland. Its real value to visitors is geography: it sits at the head of a long fjord in a dry inland pocket with the clearest weather in the country, and a rough forty-kilometre road runs from town directly to the edge of the Greenland ice sheet at Point 660 - the only place you can drive to the ice cap. Along the way, musk oxen graze the tundra in numbers, reindeer move through the valleys, and Arctic hare and fox appear. In winter the same dry skies make it one of the most reliable aurora locations anywhere.

The landscape

• Point 660 - standing at the edge of the ice sheet, reached by road.
• Musk oxen - the tundra herds along the ice sheet road.
• Russell Glacier - the calving glacier front near the road's end.
• Winter aurora - clear inland skies through the dark months.

When to go

Summer from June to September gives tundra hiking, wildlife and long daylight. Winter, especially February and March, gives aurora with cold, stable, clear conditions. Spring and autumn shoulder weeks bring mud or early snow.

Things to know

Kangerlussuaq itself is a functional airport settlement rather than a scenic town - visitors come for what is around it. The ice sheet road is rough and needs a proper 4x4 tour rather than a rental car. Walking on the ice requires a guide and crampons; the margin is riddled with crevasses and meltwater channels. Mosquitoes in July are legendary and a head net is a serious recommendation.

Nearby

Sisimiut on the coast, reachable by flight or the multi-day Arctic Circle Trail.