Air Greenland welcomes you to Qaanaaq (NAQ)

If you really want to go north, you must come here. “Ultima Thule” is an old name for the farthest north, a concept that changed, with the mapping of the world. And Qaanaaq is also called Thule. Only 30 km separate Greenland and Canada, and the many Eskimo immigrations from Canada over the past 4,500 years came to this region, the last one just 160 years ago. Today, Qaanaaq is a small town in a huge area where inhabitants of the town and surrounding settlements live a traditional way of life. Hunting for marine mammals and polar bears has provided a livelihood for hundreds of years and it still does. But there are special rules. For example, the narwhal may only be hunted from a kayak, not from fast motor boats.

Join the hunters
Not everyone is lucky enough to visit to Qaanaaq, so there is not much in the way of organised activities for tourists. But go on a dog sled ride in the spring. You wear an anoraq (anorak) made of seal skin, perhaps some polar bear skin pants and Greenlandic boots, kamiks, and then you hop on the sled. The nights are spent in tents or hunting cabins and the Primus melts snow for water to make tea and coffee, also made over the Primus. It can be cold and it can be wild, but it’s always an adventure. In late summer, the sea isn’t frozen any more, so boats are used for hunting trips and transport to the settlements. In no way does this lessen the experience.

Qaanaaq (NAQ)

Serviced by Dash-7 and helicopter
Arrivals & departures > >

Air Greenland
Phone +299 971335

Hotel Qaanaaq
Phone +299 971234
Fax +299 971064
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Qaanaaq Tourist Office
Phone +299 971473
Fax +299 971474
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