The whale and seal hunting culture’s most northerly town
Qaanaaq is the world’s most northerly municipality, and the settlement at Siorapaluk the world’s most northerly settlement. It is in the Qaanaaq area that you can get closest to what many people think of as the original, Greenlandic hunting culture. The area is also known for its arts and crafts from Ultima Thule, which are of such high quality that they can be bought all over Greenland.

Qaanaaq’s dramatic history
Qaanaaq’s traditional Greenlandic way of life is today played out in a relatively modern town. When the American airbase in Thule (also called Dundas) was extended in 1953, the original inhabitants were moved 100 km (60 miles) further north, where a completely new town, Qaanaaq, was built.

The area around Qaanaaq lies close to the North American continent and has therefore been the gateway for immigration into Greenland for thousands of years. The latest example of immigration – a group of Inuits from Baffin Island – took place just 130 years ago.

There have been several dramatic events at this town far to the north. It was from Qaanaaq that seven of polar explorer Knud Rasmussen’s expeditions set out, and it was also from here that the American explorer Robert Peary attempted to reach the North Pole in 1909.

How do I get to Qaanaaq?
Qaanaaq is one of the more inaccessible towns in Greenland, but it does have an airport where fixed-wing Air Greenland aircraft regularly land via the international airport in Kangerlussuaq (with a stopover in Upernavik). Pituffik – Thule Airbase – which lies around 130 km south of Qaanaaq is not open to visitors.
Many cruise ship guests visit Qaanaaq with its 660 inhabitants and surrounding settlements, and dogsled tourism led by Qaanaaq hunters has become increasingly popular during recent years.

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