10 days Liverpool Land
10 Day Dog Sledding Trip in Liverpool Land
Join this 10-day-long sledge trip in the amazing Liverpool Land and visit Warming Island, thermal lakes and huge bird cliffs. With local mushers, you will be safe while exploring the area.
When: February-May
Minimum number of participants: 4
Price per person/double sledge: please contact us for price
Included: 2 nights in Ittoqqortoormiit guesthouse w/self-catering;10-day sledge trip including full catering, sledge outfit, boots, sleeping bag, mattress, tent
Not included: tickets to/from Ittoqqortoormiit, catering in guesthouse Ittoqqortoormiit.
Link to tour information /multi-dayt rips HERE
Please fill out a form with your personal information, when joining one of our trips.
You can find the form HERE
Highlights:
- 10-day exploration of north-east Greenland in the area covered by the famous explorers William Scoresby, Ejnar Mikkelsen and Gustav Holm.
- Scoresbysund is the northernmost community on Greenland’s east coast and one of the last hunters' societies in the world.
- Scoresbysund area is the community in Greenland where polar bears are most common.
- See thermal lakes, dramatic cliffs (for instance the stunning “Church” in Store Fjord), glaciers, icebergs, bird cliffs and caves.
- Experience Greenlandic food: e.g. musk ox, polar bear, Arctic char, walrus, seal, narwhal, goose
- Observe wildlife: seals, birds, Arctic hares, Arctic foxes. It might be possible to spot polar bears, but they are infrequently seen since they often follow the pack ice and tend to be solitary.
- Overnight stay in hunter cabins or in tents on the sea ice
- Opportunity of watching the hunters hunt seal, if seals are spotted on the ice
- Cabins/shelters in the area: ”Goose nest“ at Kalkdal, new hut in Nørre Fjord, Lille Fjord, Kap Høegh
- Visit “Warming Island”: This new island (discovered in September 2005 by the American adventurer Dennis Schmidt) was detached from the mainland when the connecting glacier bridge retreated southwards. The island is provisionally named “Uunartoq Qeqertoq”/“The Warming Island”.
- See a pingo in Klitdal: A pingo is a mound of earth-covered ice found in the Arctic and Antarctica that can reach up to 70 metres in height and up to 2 kilometres in diameter! The term originated from the Inuit word for “small hill”. It is a periglacial landform which is defined as a non-glacial landform or process linked to colder climates.
Itinerary:
Day 1 ITTOQQORTOORMIIT ARRIVAL
Arrival at Constable Point airport (CNP). Shortly after, the helicopter will leave from CNP for Ittoqqortoormiit. A representative of the guesthouse will meet you at the helipad and escort you to the guesthouse. After settling in, all participants are going to meet at the Nanu Travel tourist office. There, we will equip you with warm winter boots and a wind-proof suit to keep you warm on the journey. We will also go over the plan and route for the trip and answer any last-minute questions you may have. If you need to buy supplies/equipment such as heat packs, maps, or books on the area, this is the place to do it.
Day 2 ITTOQQORTOORMIIT-DOM BRAVA
You will be picked up at the guesthouse in the morning and escorted to the sledges where the guides await us. If you have items that you wish not to bring on the sledge journey, you can store them at the Nanu Travel tourist office. The sledges will be prepared and the dogs will be put in front of the sledges, anxious to start the journey. We are going to divide into teams – two persons and one guide on each sledge, pulled by a dog team of 10-12. Every day the trip will start a bit dramatically, since the dogs are very impatient in the mornings – especially on this first day of the journey. There will be several breaks during day, where your guide will untangle the dogs lines.
Every day we will find a nice spot for lunch and have a half-hour break. Lunch consists of soup, bread, meat slices/sausages, snacks, and warm drinks.
We start out on the fjord ice and head for Kap Hope, a deserted village 15 km from Ittoqqortoormiit. Time to stretch your legs and explore the village. Afterwards, we will continue on the ice and turn into the mouth of Hurry Fjord. From here, it is a nice, flat stretch on the sea ice to our destination, the small shelter, Dom Brava, where we will camp for the night.
Day 3 DOM BRAVA-KLITDAL
The sledge trip continues towards the northern end of Hurry Fjord. On the way, we will pass by the “Fame Islands”, named by William Scoresby, the region’s main explorer. At the cabin “Gåsereden” we might stop for lunch, depending on weather conditions.
From Hurry Fjord the sledges go back on land and up through Klitdalen. Klitdalen divides dramatic Liverpool Land from lower Jameson Land. Jameson Land has a large population of musk oxen. We cannot guarantee to spot musk oxen at this time of year, but it could happen! We will camp in Klitdal for the night.
Day 4 KLITDAL-CARLSBERG FJORD
About half-way up in Klitdal we pass by a pingo – a periglacial landform, in the old days used by the Inuit to collect fresh water in the winter. We continue north towards the area patrolled by the only military dog sledge patrol in the world: Sirius. Upon reaching Carlsberg Fjord we will be back on sea ice. Depending on the snow conditions, we expect to go far up in the fjord today. Tonight, we are going to camp in the middle of the fjord on the frozen sea ice, surrounded by huge mountains and icebergs.
Day 5 CARLSBERG FJORD- OUTER COAST
Today, we hope to reach “Warming Island” – a small island which was discovered only a few yearsago. “Warming Island” lies on the outer coast; this means that we are now in “bear land”. We may find tracks of polar bear and if we are lucky, we will be able to observe a polar bear from distance. The dogs will warn us day and night, if a polar bear approaches unseen by us. From “Warming Island”, we can see the national park in the distance. The national park in north-east Greenland is the largest in the world and is known for its fascinating stories of exploration, the trapping period and the dog sledge patrol “Sirius”. We will camp on the sea ice.
Day 6 OUTER COAST TO THE ISLAND ”TREKANTEN“ (”The Triangle“)
We now start heading southwards and sledge down along the outer coast to ”The Triangle“ – an island with a triangle shape. On the outer coast, there is a good chance of observing seals on ice in sunny weather. If possible, the guides may try to catch a seal for dinner – and for dog food. Tonight, we will camp on the sea ice again. Depending on the ice conditions, this might be a challenging route. Some years the ice is flat, some years full of pressure ridges that make the dog sledging exciting.
Day 7 TREKANTEN-NØRREFJORD
From ”The Triangle” we continue on the ice and later on over land to reach the new cabin in Nørre Fjord. The cabin has been built next to a small thermal spring, with a great view over the surrounding landscape. In the evening, we enjoy a nice meal inside for the first time in many days. The cabin is easily heated and we are going to have a cozy evening with snacks and storytelling. Tonight, we will have the option of either sleeping in the cabin or in the tents.
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Day 8 NØRRE FJORD-STORE FJORD
We sledge overland and down to the beautiful Store Fjord where we will make a stopover at the amazing cliff “The Church” and visit the caves. We will camp on the sea ice and take in the awe-inspiring surroundings.
Day 9 STORE FJORD-KAP GREG
From Store Fjord we continue down the coast to Kap Greg. Kap Greg is usually inhabited by flocks of Arctic hares. The surrounding mountains offer a great view from the top. We will sleep in tents.
Day 10 KAP GREG-KAP HØEGH
From Kap Greg we will sledge along the coast and pass by the huge glacier front of Emanuel Glacier. From mid-May thousands of little auks flock and different kinds of geese breed in this area. Kap Høegh is surrounded by cliffs that are easy to climb. On top, you may find Arctic hares – Kap Høegh’s Greenlandic name “Ugalerarder” refers to all the hares in this spot. There are two cabins at Kap Høegh. We will camp in the cabins and/or tents.
Day 11 KAP HØEGH- ITTOQQORTOORMIIT
From Kap Høegh the sledges go through Lille Fjord and past a glacier to reach land. You will have a great view over the area before descending to Ittoqqortoormiit and entering the town via the frozen river. Back at the guesthouse, a nice hot shower is waiting!
Day 12 ITTOQQORTOORMIIT DEPARTURE
An employee of the guesthouse will take your luggage to check-in. Shortly after, the helicopter leaves for Constable Point. Departure follows with the scheduled flight from CNP.
See the huts you will visit during the sled trip here
Be aware that the trip itinerary can be changed at short notice due to weather and snow conditions.
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