Not many people forget their first meeting with the Ice Sheet. Simply the feeling as you approach and experience how the walls of ice rise up in all their pomp and glory: Steep, proud, creviced - and huge. The ice covers 85 % of Greenland, so you'll always somehow experience the huge carpet of ice during your visit to the country.

Creaking and groaning

Perhaps you'll be experiencing the ice sheet from the deck of a ship, a helicopter, a dogsled or on a hike. When you see it, it appears at first completely quiet and still; a gigantic sea of ice frozen into an unchangeable state. However, in the midst of this silence, you hear groans and creaks as the ice works and moves. Infinitely slowly it's pushed forward by the pressure of the millions of tonnes behind.

Meltwater lakes and waterfalls

The Ice Sheet isn't just flat. At its periphery it's quite undulating. You'll see waterfalls, meltwater lakes and rivers gushing down into wells and disappearing into the ice. Imagine setting up camp here, lighting up the primus stove, putting a freshly caught fish on the pan and listening to the meltwater roaring under the ice.

Experience the ice sheet by land, on the water or in the air

From Kangerlussuaq you can either hike or cycle to the edge of the ice. In South Greenland there are also many good hiking routes to the edges of the glaciers. During the winter the ice in the region makes a perfect surface for longer trips by dogsled.

Seeing the ice and the glaciers from the water is also popular. In the north, small vessels sail close to some of the world's most productive glaciers, whilst in the south and in the east there are good opportunities to combine the experience with a visit to a settlement. In Ilulissat the helicopter flight which ends with a landing on the ice promises a quite unique experience. Weekly trips to the Ice Sheet are also organised from Nuuk. For very hardy travellers there's a chance to cross the approximately 600 km wide ice cap, although such a trip requires special preparations.

Iceberg entrepreneur

Wherever the Ice Sheet meets the sea or a fjord, icebergs are born. The sea is whipped up, the swell rises, a huge lump of ice tumbles into the water, finds its equilibrium and floats in a sedate tempo out to sea, where icebergs in all shapes and sizes create a wonderful, ever-changing island realm.

Read more about the ice sheet here.