Groenland
Schilderachtige nederzettingen, ijsschotsen en een walvisexcursie
West-Groenland ten voeten uit
D
e prachtige westkust is een paradijs voor natuurliefhebbers. Tijdens deze reis brengen diverse boottochten u naar bekende en afgelegen plekken, waar u geweldige wandelingen maakt. U ziet gigantische ijsbergen, kleine nederzettingen en vangt wellicht een glimp op van een walvis.
IJsbergen en Inuit cultuur
We beginnen onze reis in Ilulissat. Nergens ter wereld kunt u zo makkelijk grote ijsbergen van dichtbij bewonderen. Ze dobberen rustig voor de kust op weg naar open water, de één nog mooier dan de ander. Tijdens een wandeling door de Sermermiut vallei zien we archeologische overblijfselen van een jachtnederzetting van de Inuit. Veel gebruiken uit deze primitieve cultuur worden heden ten dagen nog steeds toegepast. Men leeft immers in Groenland voornamelijk van de jacht en de visserij.
Diskobaai
Per boot doorkruisen we de Diskobaai diverse keren. We zien er ijsbergen drijven en de Diskobaai is door de jaren heen een populaire plek geworden om walvissen te spotten. We varen naar de tweede oudste plaats van Groenland, Qasigiannguit. Het is in 1734 gesticht door de Deense koopman Jacob Severin en ligt als een parel naast de grote rots Qarqassuak. U maakt er een wandeling en een dagtocht per boot naar twee eilanden. Dan steken we de Diskobaai over naar Qeqertarsuaq op Disko eiland. Dit is het echte Groenland: gekleurde huisjes, ijsbergen in de zee en overal het gejoel van de ontelbare husky’s.
Uitgebreid dagprogramma
vlucht Kopenhagen – Ilulissatdag 1
vlucht Kopenhagen – Ilulissat, dag 1We take the flight from Copenhagen to Ilulissat via Kangerlussuaq. Upon arrival at Ilulissat we check in at Hotel Arctic, which is beautifully situated right next to the shore of the Disko Bay. The afternoon is free to take a stroll and absorb the atmosphere of the town, situated 300 km north of the Polar Circle. Besides the famous Kangia Icefiord, the town is also known for the Ilulissat museum, the former college of education and later on the birthplace of the famous Arctic explorer, Knud Rasmussen and the Art Museum housing painting from Emmanuel A. Petersen. In the evening we have dinner at Hotel Arctic.
dagwandeling Sermermiut vallei en IJsfjorddag 2
dagwandeling Sermermiut vallei en IJsfjord, dag 2We will start the day at the quarry in the south-east end of town. From here we will take the path which will lead us through a stunning ravine with high rockwalls, and the snow bunting might show itself to us. Once arriving at the top we will see a small white stripe of the ice cap in the horizon. The hike continues downwards to a small lake from where we will get the first view of the Icefiord and the huge icebergs floating around in it. Passing by a small stream we fill up our water bottles and find a nice place to have a picnic. The remaining part of the hike will take place along the icefiord and we will get to experience the ice with all our senses. The creaking, crunching and rumbling sounds from the icebergs overwhelm our ears, and we can even smell the ice. As far as the eye can se there is ice and more ice. Along the icefiord we continue to Holm’s Hill, the place where the Greenlanders from Ilulissat meet every 13th of January to greet the sun after spending the winter in complete darkness. Towards the end of the day we will start exploring the largest of the old Greenlandic settlements, Sermermiut, which has been the home to both the paleo-eskimo and neo-eskimo societies. During the Thule-culture period around 250 people lived and died in this remarkable rugged area. Sporadic immigrations to the area count both the early Saqqaq-culture but also the subsequent Thule-culture settled in the area that surrounds Ilulissat.
boot naar Qasigiannguit, wandelingdag 3
boot naar Qasigiannguit, wandeling, dag 3Today we will go by boat across the Disko Bay. It is easy to just lean back and enjoy the fresh air from the sea while the icebergs calmly drift by. The icebergs here are gigantic, as they strand here on the submerged moraine at the mouth of the icefiord they rise masterfully directly in the sea often with an altitude of around 100 metres. We sail among these cathedrals and might spot a couple of whales if we are lucky. We eat our packed lunch on the boat and subsequently arrive to Qasigiannguit, Greenland’s second oldest town, founded by the Danish merchant Jacob Severin in 1734. Qasigiannguit is a small pearl right next to Qarqassuak - "The big rock". In the afternoon you might want to do a walk around the town or visit the local museum, definitely worth seeing. The museum has a very well conserved collection of items dating back to the Saqqaq culture, a culture that immigrated to Greenland 4,500 years ago. An entire settlement, Qeqertasussuk, was excavated in the south eastern part of the Disko Bay, south of Qasigiannguit.
In Qasigiannguit there are some good opportunities for spotting whales. From the hotel, where we will be staying, you might get a glimpse of humpback whales and minke whales.
The following days offersopportunities for shorter hikes eg. passing by the coast line in order to see these fantastic animals as they scamper about in the sea. Or a hike to Paradisbugten "Paradise Bay" and Bryghusbugten "Brewery Bay" and the area where Qasigiannguit was originally founded.
Today we can also visit the local fish factory. The factory dates back to 1999 and is the biggest and most modern of its kind in the Disko Bay. We will get an insight into the processessing of halibut, which is one of Greenland's biggest exportation commodities.
dagtocht per boot naar twee eilandendag 4
dagtocht per boot naar twee eilanden, dag 4We sail from Qasigiannguit to "Basis Island" - Kitsigsunguit - the biggest of the islands, also called Grønne Ejland "Green Island". On this island we have been granted permission to harbour in the old harbour, the place where the whalers and fishermen used to harbour in the old times. In this place we will encounter things left behind from former settlers such as turff cottages as well as a cemetery in the centre of the island. We will do a small walk on the island and follow a path leading to a colony of the Arctic tern - which we hopefully will experience at close range. In clear weather we see the giant icebergs deriving from the icefiord. To the west we can spot the Disko Island with the characteristic snow and ice covering the range of the high mountains and to the east we are able to see green mountains around Qasigiannguit. After a couple of hours we have lunch in the old harbour while we observe and hear the twitter from the Arctic tern. After lunch we continue by boat to the conservation area on the island of Niaqomaq. This island is the domicile to many different bird species. We might encounter the tern, the guillemot and the black guillemot hiding in the cliffs. After observing the many different species of birds from the boat we continue our boat trip and head back to Qasigiannguit. Throughout the entire day we might even spot whales and seals from the boat.
boottocht naar Disko eiland, onderweg stop in Aasiaatdag 5
boottocht naar Disko eiland, onderweg stop in Aasiaat, dag 5in the morning it is time to leave Qasigiannguit. By boat we head south-west to Aasiaat where we arrive a few hours later. We have 4 hours in Aasiaat before sailing on to Qeqertarsuaq on Disko Island. Aasiaat was formerly named Egedesminde, after the founder, Niels Egede, who founded the town in 1759. Amongst other culturel sights, the town houses a museum/meeting house, which displays 24 paintings by the famous Danish artist Per Kirkeby, who painted these paintings during a stay in Aasiaat in the 1960's.
Aasiaat is situatede on an island in the "island Kingdom" - the land of the thousand islands, and offers planty of opportunities for shorter hikes along the coastline nearby the town.
Late in the afternoon we course for the famous Disko Island. We sail north past the "Hunde Ejland" and "Kronprinsens Ejland" islands, as the basalt mountains on the Disko Island emerge. The waters near the Disko Island is a popular spot for spotting humpback whales. After arraival to the beautiful natural harbour, we check-in at our hote, situated just a few minutes' walk from the harbour.
dagwandeling op Disko eilanddag 6
dagwandeling op Disko eiland, dag 6In the morning we set off with a hike to Kuannit, which is also the Greenlandic word for Angelica, ever popular plant among the locals. They use it both as a spice and as a vegetable. This place has some amazing basalt formations, and you will find yourself encountering some of the Disko Island's many hot springs — more than 2000 are to be found on the island. Minerals in the hot springs give the plants some dramatic green colours and can be seen from a long distance. Depending on the weather situation we have lunch outside in these remarkable surroundings. We might continue our hike up into the valley of "Blæsedalen" and hike along the turbulent river "Røde Elv" running down through the valley towards the Disko Bay.
boot naar Ilulissatdag 7
boot naar Ilulissat, dag 7Later on in the afternoon we sail back to Ilulissat, the mainland. But before that we still have some time to explore the Disko Island. You might want to do a walk to "Udkiggen" a lookout point for spotting whales. This is the southernmost point of the island and this place has been used for ages for spotting whales and seals. A visit to Quqertarsuaq Museum and/or Arctic Station is definetely also worth a visit. Late in the afternoon we leave by boat for Ilulissat and as we get closer to Ilulissat Icefiord the icebergs cluster up. In clear weather trotline fishermen in their yawls are visible.
vrij in Ilulissat, optionele wandeling en optionele boottocht in IJsfjorddag 8
vrij in Ilulissat, optionele wandeling en optionele boottocht in IJsfjord, dag 8This day is at your own disposal. There are plenty of different opportunities to explore Ilulissat today. Maybe you want to pay a visit to the Zion church or the art museum - both worth a visit! Or perhaps you want to take a stroll to the harbour and expereince the local fishermen return in their small boats after longline fishing in the icefiord or sealing in the Disko Bay. The catch of the day can be found at the local fish market "Brættet" centrally placed in the city. At "Brættet" it is often possible to try out a piece of "Mattak" - whale blubber. For those who are interested, the tour leader will arrange a small hike to the surrounding satelite mountain. In evening time we will enjoy a nice meal in one of Ilulissat's restaurants and maybe later on in the evening you feel like treating yourself to a midnight boat trip to the Kangia Icefiord with a view to complete fascination and astonishment when passing by the icebergs floating around in the Disko Bay. B/-/-
vlucht Ilulissat – Kangerlussuaq – Kopenhagendag 9
vlucht Ilulissat – Kangerlussuaq – Kopenhagen, dag 9We leave for the airport and fly via Kangerlussuaq to Copenhagen in Denmark. If the weather is good, we will have a splendid view – from one side you can see the ice fiord, from the other side it is the Disko Bay that lies beneath. If time allows it, it is possible to take a walk in the area around Kangerlussuaq. Even close to the populated area you can see musk oxes, which makes it interesting to take a hike or even better a cycling trip in the direction of the ice cap in order to get close to these magnificent animals (activities in Kangerlussuaq will be on your own). We change flights in Kangerlussuaq and continue the flight to Copenhagen with enough time to let all the great experiences settle in our minds.
Duur:
9 dagen
Soort:
Groepsreis
Zwaarte:
Comfort
- IJsfjord en Disko eiland
- lange, lichte nachten
- veel wandelmogelijkheden
vanaf
€ 3421
€ 3421
ZOEK IN ONS AANBOD
Dagprogramma
- 1vlucht Kopenhagen – Ilulissat
- 2dagwandeling Sermermiut vallei en IJsfjord
- 3boot naar Qasigiannguit, wandeling
- 4dagtocht per boot naar twee eilanden
- 5boottocht naar Disko eiland, onderweg stop in Aasiaat
- 6dagwandeling op Disko eiland
- 7boot naar Ilulissat
- 8vrij in Ilulissat, optionele wandeling en optionele boottocht in IJsfjord
- 9vlucht Ilulissat – Kangerlussuaq – Kopenhagen
elke reis kan aan uw wensen worden aangepast lees meer
© 2010 Askja Reizen • Website by tweede golf • Design by The Ad Agency
