West Greenland & Baffin Island

• Day 1 - Kangerlussuaq, Greenland; Embarkation Day

  Kangerlussuaq is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name (Danish: Søndre Strømfjord). It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport. The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and Sondrestrom Air Base. The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen, caribou, and gyrfalcons. The settlement's economy and population of 512 is almost entirely reliant on the airport and tourist industry.

• Day 2 - Sisiiut

  Located just north of the Arctic Circle, Sisimiut is the northernmost town in Greenland where the port remains free of ice in the winter. Yet it is also the southernmost town where there is enough snow and ice to drive a dogsled in winter and spring. In Sisimiut, travelling by sled has been the primary means of winter transportation for centuries. In fact, the area has been inhabited for approximately 4,500 years. Modern Sisimiut is the largest business center in the north of Greenland, and is one of the fastest growing Greenlandic cities. Commercial fishing is the lead economy in the town‘s thriving industrial base.

• Day 3 - Uummannaq

  In the iceberg-laden waters surrounding the remote community of Uummannaq it is common to see whales. This area of Greenland is also known for its huge basalt mountains, and the small hunting and fishing village of Uummannaq rests at the foot of the heart-shaped Uummannaq Mountain, a name that translates to mean “in the shape of a seal’s heart”. The town of over 1200 people has a granite church and the country’s most northerly ferry terminal. The economy of Uummannaq revolves largely around the halibut/fish-processing factory.

• Day 4/12 - At Sea

  While we're at sea, enjoy wine tastings, designer boutiques, language and dance classes. Take in a matinee movie, check the market or your e-mail in the Internet Point, slip away with a novel from the library to a sunny chaise or with a movie to your suite. Or just take in the sun pool side. The choice is yours.

• Day 5 - Pond Inlet, Nunavut

  Located in northern Baffin Island, Pond Inlet is a small, predo¬minantly Inuit community, with a population of roughly 1,500 inhabitants. In 1818, the British explorer John Ross named a bay in the vicinity after the English astronomer John Pond. Today Pond Inlet is considered one of Canada's "jewels of the North" thanks to several picturesque glaciers and mountain ranges nearby. Many archaeological sites of ancient Dorset and Thule peoples can be found near Pond Inlet. The Inuit hunted caribou, ringed and harp seals, fish, polar bears, walrus, narwhals, geese, ptarmigans and Arctic hares, long before European and American whalers came here to harvest bowhead whales.

• Day 6 - Buchan Gulf

  Buchan Gulf is a deep, elongated gash carved by glaciers during the last Ice Age that cuts 22 miles into the eastern shores of Baffin Island. The most striking feature in the Gulf ate impressive steep coastal cliffs and rock pinnacles. The cliffs are comprised of hard Precambrian metamorphic rock that rises as much as 2,000 feet from the sea. The conditions are perfect for nesting Northern Fulmars, and in fact, this area is one of the most important nesting sites for these birds in the world. European explorer William Baffin first ventured here in the 15th century to search for the Northwest Passage.

• Day 7 - Sirmilik National Park, Bylot Island

  Sirmilik means "place of glaciers" in the Inuit language, which aptly describes the expansive landscape of glaciers, valleys and ice fields found on Bylot Island. The island, located off the northwest end of Baffin Island, has been a protected area and migratory bird reserve since 2001 because it is one of the most diverse areas in the arctic. Narwhals, beluga whales, walrus and seals can be found in the waters, while on land there are caribou, arctic fox, arctic hares, wolves and even an occasional polar bear. It is also a very important seabird colony. More than 70 species of birds have been recorded here, with about 40 species seasonally breeding on the island.

• Day 8 - Cruise Peel Sound

  Peel Sound is a 30 mile wide, 125 mile long channel separating Prince of Wales Island to the west and Somerset Island to the east. It was named in 1851 by explorer Vice Admiral Horatio Austin in honour of Sir Robert Peel, a former prime minister of Great Britain. Austin, however, was not the first person to sail through the sound. Five years earlier, in 1846, Sir John Franklin had passed through the strait, just before his ships became icebound. Peel Sound is not always open. Several explorers, including Francis Leopold McClintock in 1858 and Allen Young in 1875, were unable to pass because it was blocked by ice.

• Day 9 - Beechey Island & Radsock Bay, Devon Island

  Beechey Island is a small island off the southwest coast of Devon Island, separated by a narrow waterway called the Barrow Strait. Captain William Edward Parry was the first European to visit the island in 1819. His lieutenant, Frederick William Beechey, named the island after his father, the artist William Beechey (1753–1839). Beechey Island played a significant role in the history of Arctic Exploration. During the winter of 1845-46, Sir John Franklin and his men camped on the island as part of their ill-fated quest to find the Northwest Passage. Mummified remains of three of Franklin’s crew were discovered, giving a better understanding of what happened before the disappearance of the expedition.

  Devon Island is Canada’s sixth largest island and was first seen by Europeans in the early 17th century. The Thule culture had already settled there many centuries before, and left behind qarmat homes, made of rocks, whale bones, rock and sod walls, and skins for roofs that tell a story of over 800 years of human habitation. Other striking finds in this area are the many fossils of corals, crinoids and nautiloids that can be seen.

• Day 10 - Dundas Harbour, Devon Island

  Dundas Harbour is located in the southeast of Devon Island, Canada’s 6th largest island. It is a forlorn but starkly beautiful spot. The island was first sighted by Europeans in 1616 by the English explorers Robert Bylot and William Baffin. But it did not appear on maps until after explorer William Edward Parry’s exploration in the 1820’s. Parry named it after Devon, England. In the local Inuktitut language, the place is called Talluruti, which translates as “a woman’s chin with tattoos on it.” This refers to the deep crevasses and streaks on Devon Island, which from a distance resemble traditional facial tattoos. On land there are remains of a Thule settlement dating back to 1000 A.D.

• Day 11 - Ellesmere Island

  Ellesmere Island, 520 miles long and with an area of close to 80,000 square miles, is the third-largest island in Canada, the 10th-largest island in the world and the most northerly island in the Arctic Archipelago. It is very rugged with impressive mountains, vast ice fields, glaciers and a coastline deeply indented by fjords. Technically, it is a polar desert because it gets less than 3 inches of precipitation a year. Vegetation is sparse, but there are small herds of muskoxen and caribou that spread out on the Hazen Plateau. It was these land animals that attracted the Thule peoples to the area about 2000–1000 BC. Later, Vikings on hunting and trading expeditions crossed from Greenland to Ellesmere.

• Day 13 - Upernavik

  More than 1,100 inhabitants presently make the small town of Upernavik their home. The name in Kalaallisut means “Springtime Place” and is also given to the island upon which the town rests. This small settlement was founded in 1772, and is the northernmost town in Greenland with a population of over 1,000. The Upernavik Museum is the oldest in Greenland and houses a collection of local art. In 1824, the Kingittorsuaq Runestone was found outside the town. In addition to the runic characters left here by Norsemen, probably from the late 13th century, Norse artifacts have been found in the area, likely marking the northern limit of Viking exploration.

• Day 14 - Qeqertarsuaq

  During the morning Silver Cloud will ply the Disko Bay en route to our destination along Disko Island’s east coast. Our exploration of the Disko Bay area will head to an area north of the village of Qeqertarsuaq, which is named after Disko Island’s local name –meaning “large island”. With more than 3,300 sq. miles Disko Island is Greenland’s second-largest island.

• Day 15 - Illulisat

  Known as the birthplace of icebergs, the Ilulissat Icefjord produces nearly 20 million tons of ice each day. In fact, the word Ilulissat means “icebergs” in the Kalaallisut language. The town of Ilulissat is known for its long periods of calm and settled weather, but the climate tends to be cold due to its proximity to the fjord. Approximately 4,500 people live in Ilulissat, the third-largest town in Greenland after Nuuk and Sisimiut. Some people here estimate that there are nearly as many sled dogs as human beings living in the town that also boasts a local history museum located in the former home of Greenlandic folk hero and famed polar explorer Knud Rasmussen.

• Day 16 - Kangerlussuaq, Greenland; Disembarkation

  Kangerlussuaq is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name (Danish: Søndre Strømfjord). It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commercial airport. The airport dates from American settlement during and after World War II, when the site was known as Bluie West-8 and Sondrestrom Air Base. The Kangerlussuaq area is also home to Greenland's most diverse terrestrial fauna, including muskoxen, caribou, and gyrfalcons. The settlement's economy and population of 512 is almost entirely reliant on the airport and tourist industry.

Please consider that our voyages are expeditionary in nature. This means, that there are no concrete itineraries, your captain and expedition leader will utilise their vast experience to chart the best course for your expedition depending on the climatic and environmental conditions. Mentioned highlights and wildlife cannot be guaranteed.