Kulusuk

Kulusuk is a village of a few hundred people on an island off the east coast, and it matters out of proportion to its size because the airstrip beside it, built by the American military in the 1950s, is the main entry point to East Greenland from Iceland. Flights from Reykjavik take a little over two hours. The village has kept drum dance demonstrations and kayak displays, and icebergs from the East Greenland current sit in the fjord in front of it.

History

The Saqqaq people were the first to reach eastern Greenland, displaced by the Dorset culture around 3,000 years ago, and the Thule people passed through in the 15th century; the region was not settled again until the late 18th century. Kulusuk Island itself was not permanently settled until the early 1900s, the village being founded in 1909, and its church was built in 1908 by the crew of a Danish sailing ship wrecked on the nearby coast, from the ship's own timbers. The airport was built in 1956 to supply a radar station on the south tip of the island, and from 1959 Icelandair ran summer day trips from Reykjavík that started a small tourism industry (Wikipedia, Kulusuk).

Highlights

• The drum dancing - the East Greenlandic tradition demonstrated in the village.
• The airstrip - the 1950s military strip that is the region's gateway.
• The icebergs - ice from the East Greenland current sitting in the fjord.
• The painted houses - the village scattered across the rock of its island.

When to go

March to May for sea ice and dog sledding. June to September for open water and hiking. Flights run year round but are cancelled often.

What to expect

Weather cancels flights routinely and being stuck here is common. The village has almost no facilities beyond a small hotel. Onward transport to Tasiilaq depends on helicopter or boat.

Nearby

Tasiilaq is northwest, and Ammassalik Island is beyond it.

Key facts