Oqaatsut

Oqaatsut is a settlement of a few dozen people about twenty kilometres north of Ilulissat, once a Dutch whaling station, and it has no road: the boat runs in summer, dog sled or snowmobile in winter, and a hiking route follows the coast in around five hours. A restaurant in an old building serves visitors and there is a small guesthouse. The name means cormorants. The Disko Bay icebergs are visible from the shore.

History

The settlement began as Rodebay, a trading post of 18th-century Dutch whalers, and its original blubber house, cooperage and storehouse are still in use. When the Royal Greenland fish plant that employed most families closed, the village came close to being abandoned, and in 2000 local fishermen founded a new fishing company that kept it alive (Wikipedia, Oqaatsut).

The main sights

• The whaling station history - the Dutch use of the site before the colonial period.
• The coastal hike - the five-hour walking route from Ilulissat.
• The winter sled route - the dog sledding access when the sea ice forms.
• The settlement - a few dozen people with no road connection.

When to go

June to September for boats and hiking. February to April for dog sledding when the ice is firm. Shoulder seasons can leave it unreachable.

What to expect

There is a period in spring and autumn when neither boat nor sled works and the settlement is effectively cut off. Facilities are one restaurant and a small guesthouse. The hike is unmarked in places.

Nearby

Ilulissat is south, and Eqi Glacier is north.

Key facts