Qaqortoq

Qaqortoq is the largest town in south Greenland with around three thousand people, built up the slopes around a harbour with painted wooden houses on the rock. Its old colonial square holds a fountain from 1928 and the oldest buildings in the town. Since 1993 the Stone and Man project has carved and painted around forty sculptures directly into the rock faces and boulders around the town, so the whole settlement functions as an open-air gallery.

What you actually see

• The Stone and Man sculptures - around forty works carved into the town's rocks.
• The colonial square - the old centre with the 1928 fountain.
• The painted houses - the wooden buildings stepping up the slopes.
• The museum - the collection on Inuit and colonial history.

When to go

June to September is the season. The coastal ferry calls on its schedule. Winter is dark and connections are limited.

Honest expectations

Access is by boat or helicopter and both are weather dependent. The sculptures are scattered across the town and a map is needed to find them all. Prices are very high.

Nearby

Hvalsey is southwest by boat, and Uunartoq is south.