Igaliku
Igaliku is in southern Greenland.
Understand
Igaliku - quite surprisingly considering its country and latitude - is, of all things, a farming village! Like Nunataaq, fields surround the buildings in the village.
Get in
Igaliku is hard to reach, as it is almost completely isolated. The only town on the same peninsula is Qaqortoq, nearly 30 miles (50 km) away over high, rocky mountains. The end of the peninsula is dominated by glaciers, and one could get to Igaliku from Narsarsuaq by crossing the freezing Greenland waters or crossing a glacier.
- 🌍 Igaliku Marina is located on the eastern edge of Igaliku.
Get around
Everything in the village itself is within walking distance. However, the road across the peninsula is nearly 4 km, and continues nearly 2 more km.
See
- 🌍 Garðar Cathedral Ruins (Garðar Domkirke). First built in 1126, only the foundation remains of this cathedral.
- 🌍 Village & fields. The village is surrounded by fields and gentle mountain slopes. In the east of the village is a small bay and marina.
- 🌍 Mountain pass (Peninsula) (Follow main road west out of Igaliku). Out of the village, a twisty road goes up the eastern face of a cliff near Igaliku. At the top of the cliff is a pass, and a gradual slope leading to more fields on the far side of the peninsula.
Do
Hiking and exploration
- 🌍 Across the peninsula, King's Road (Follow King's Road west). King's Road is a 5-km dirt road which goes across a peninsula and then goes along the west coast of the peninsula to a small bay.
- 🌍 Up a canyon (Follow main road north for about 5 km). The first few kilometers of the dirt road follow a fjord. The last couple of kilometers go into a canyon and eventually reach a lake.
Buy
Igaliku is a small town, with a small supermarket, open a few hours everyday.
Eat
At the Igaliku Country Hotel you can order breakfast, lunch and dinner in the Igaliku Café. For lunch you just show up, but for breakfast and dinner it is a good idea to book in advance to make sure to get a seat. The hotel is most busy in July and August.
Drink
Go to the Igaliku Café for coffee and other drinks.
Sleep
At Igaliku there are some choices of accommodation:
- You can camp in tent everywhere outside of the village. This has no cost, but you won't have access to toilets or showers.
- Igaliku youth hostel
- Igaliku Country hotel
- Fully equipped vacation houses available for rent.
Connect
From 2019, there is 4G cell coverage in the village. You can also get Wi-Fi at the Igaliku Café for a small fee.
Go next
Qaqortoq, main town in southern Greenland.
Narsaq, a town further down Tunulliarfik Fjord towards Qaqortoq.
Narsarsuaq, a town with an airport in southern Greenland.
All of these places can be reached by Disko Line boats or Air Greenland helicopter.