Ilulissat

Ilulissat means 'the icebergs' and the name covers exactly what the area around the town looks like; an endless sea crammed with drifting icebergs and floes.

Although it is a scruffy place, it is one of Greenland's most popular tourist destinations. The town's history dates back to 1500 BC and archaeological digs have uncovered ancient Saqqaq and Dorset settlements.

The town was established as a trading post in 1741.

The Knud Rasmussen Museum has exhibitions on Arctic expeditions, as well as Danish and Inuit history. In the Cold Museum you can see tools and machinery from the old trading settlement. The Ilulissat Art Museum is housed in a building from 1923. It was turned into a museum in 1995.

Zion's Church is one of 2 churches in Ilulissat. The other church is just outside of town on the shoreline.

About 1.5 km (0.5 miles) from Ilulissat's old heliport is the Ilulissat Icefjord, where you can see the Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, the world's most prolific glacier outside Antarctica. Its face is about 5 km (3 mi) wide and it includes about a tenth of all of Greenland's glaciers that swan around the island's waters. The icefjord is a UNESCO world heritage site.

There are numerous hiking paths in the area around town and they are marked with cairns. One of the most interesting trails takes you to the ruins at Sermermiut and Holms Bakke, the spot where the entire town of Ilulissat gathers every year on the first day, when it is possible to catch a glimpse of the sun after the dark winter. This date is always on or around 13 January. It is also possible to hike to Vandsøen and Akinnaq.

Ilulissat has air and boat connections with several other places in Greenland, including the capital of Nuuk. There are several hotels and restaurants in Ilulissat. The town is one of the ports on Disko Bay and it lies 620 km north of Nuuk.