The fire, frost and water symbolized by the red, white and blue of Iceland’s flag are manifested by the ice and snow of its glaciers, the hot mud pools, geysers and glowing lava flows in the country’s volcanic regions. The island’s settlement dates back to 874 when a Norwegian named Ingolf Arnarson arrived at present-day Reykjavik. In 930, the settlers formed a legislature, the Alting, which was the beginning of the Commonwealth of Iceland. From the 10th to the 14th centuries, Iceland developed a literary form, the Icelandic Saga, which spread throughout the Nordic culture and into the English and German languages. It was used to spin stories of the gods, record historic events and glorify heroes. As Iceland’s capital and main center of the country’s population, the city of Reykjavik is a fascinating blend of the traditional and modernism. Just as Iceland is a unique country – rugged and remote, yet technically advanced and enjoying Nordic standards of affluence – Reykjavik is a highly unusual capital city. It dominates the life of Iceland in almost every way. More than half of the country’s total population of 270,000 is living in and around the capital, and the economy of the entire nation depends on Reykjavik. Nearly 60 percent of Iceland’s imports are received and distributed, and 40 percent of the country’s exports are loaded for shipment via the port of Reykjavik. It is also the headquarters of what is probably the world’s most advanced seafood industry, which counts for Iceland’s number one export.

Some 60 kilometers southeast of the entrance to Kangerlussuaq Fjord and halfway between Maniitsoq and Kangaamiut is Sermilinnguaq, one of the smaller fjords leading to the Greenland Icecap’s westernmost valley glaciers in South Greenland. Northeast of Maniitsoq’s rugged scenery with peaks rising hundreds of meters into the sky, the narrow fjord with its steep mountainsides is one of the preferred halibut fishing areas for the local fishermen from Maniitsoq and Kangaamiut. View less In 2019, the Greenland Environment Fund granted resources to clean up and remove derelict fishing gear which had washed up along the Sermilinnguaq Fjord based on the fishermen’s request. Razorbills, Brünnich’s Guillemots (Thick-billed Murres), Common Guillemots, and Black Guillemots, Glaucous Gulls, and Black-legged Kittiwakes –all attracted by the rich fishing grounds- have formed eight bird colonies in Sermilinnguaq. As a result, 3,000 hectares of the fjord are considered an Important Bird Area.

In the 1920s the sparsely settled coast of East Greenland had too many families living in Ammassalik (today’s Tasiilaq) for the hunting grounds available and in 1925 Scoresbysund was chosen to start a new settlement with some 70 Inuit from Ammassalik and four families from West Greenland. Less than 10 kilometers from the entrance to the Scoresbysund system, Ittoqqortoormiit (“Big House Dwellers”) lies on the southern tip of Liverpool Land, a low and rounded area compared to the steeper mountains further south or into the fjord system. View less Some 460 inhabitants call Ittoqqortoormiit, one of Greenland’s most isolated settlements, their home. Not counting the military and civilian researchers at Daneborg, Northeast Greenland, their closest neighbors actually live in Iceland. Although Greenland’s hottest hot springs are located some 8 kilometers south of Ittoqqortoormiit, the village is frozen in some nine months of the year and access to other parts of the country can only be done via the Nerlerit Inaat Airport at Constable Point some 38 km to the north with flights to Iceland and West Greenland. The former village’s shop serves as a small museum and features historic photographs and costumes and shows what a typical hunter’s home from the 1960s looked like. Today hunting narwhals, seals, polar bears and muskoxen is still an important part of the life, but tourism is gaining importance.

Remote, harsh, and breathtakingly beautiful, Northeast Greenland tales the breath way like nowhere else. Administratively, the area is split between Sermersooq and Avanaatta Municipalities and the vast Northeast Greenland National Park, the northernmost and largest national park in the world. So large is this protected wilderness that it is larger than all but the largest twenty nine countries on Earth, and only marine reserves are larger, in terms of protected areas. In the past, the area saw migration by waves of paleo-Eskimo cultures, all taking advantages of the rich hunting in the area, many migrating over the north of Greenland, and down the East Coast. Northeast Greenland is rich in archaeological sites as people followed the prey with the seasons. Today, the area has no permanent population, but hunters from Ittoqqortoomiit (‘People who Live in Big Houses’), the only town in the area, often frequent the area by dogsled, hunting for musk oxen, polar bears, walrus and seals, all of which are common in the area. The non-native popultaion is scattered around a few remote scientific stations, and the legendary Sirius Patrol, an elite branch of the Danish military in charge of enforcing Danish Sovereignty and acting as a long-range reconnaissance unit, travelling by dogsled into the wilderness, often for weeks at a time.

Remote, harsh, and breathtakingly beautiful, Northeast Greenland tales the breath way like nowhere else. Administratively, the area is split between Sermersooq and Avanaatta Municipalities and the vast Northeast Greenland National Park, the northernmost and largest national park in the world. So large is this protected wilderness that it is larger than all but the largest twenty nine countries on Earth, and only marine reserves are larger, in terms of protected areas. In the past, the area saw migration by waves of paleo-Eskimo cultures, all taking advantages of the rich hunting in the area, many migrating over the north of Greenland, and down the East Coast. Northeast Greenland is rich in archaeological sites as people followed the prey with the seasons. Today, the area has no permanent population, but hunters from Ittoqqortoomiit (‘People who Live in Big Houses’), the only town in the area, often frequent the area by dogsled, hunting for musk oxen, polar bears, walrus and seals, all of which are common in the area. The non-native popultaion is scattered around a few remote scientific stations, and the legendary Sirius Patrol, an elite branch of the Danish military in charge of enforcing Danish Sovereignty and acting as a long-range reconnaissance unit, travelling by dogsled into the wilderness, often for weeks at a time.

Remote, harsh, and breathtakingly beautiful, Northeast Greenland tales the breath way like nowhere else. Administratively, the area is split between Sermersooq and Avanaatta Municipalities and the vast Northeast Greenland National Park, the northernmost and largest national park in the world. So large is this protected wilderness that it is larger than all but the largest twenty nine countries on Earth, and only marine reserves are larger, in terms of protected areas. In the past, the area saw migration by waves of paleo-Eskimo cultures, all taking advantages of the rich hunting in the area, many migrating over the north of Greenland, and down the East Coast. Northeast Greenland is rich in archaeological sites as people followed the prey with the seasons. Today, the area has no permanent population, but hunters from Ittoqqortoomiit (‘People who Live in Big Houses’), the only town in the area, often frequent the area by dogsled, hunting for musk oxen, polar bears, walrus and seals, all of which are common in the area. The non-native popultaion is scattered around a few remote scientific stations, and the legendary Sirius Patrol, an elite branch of the Danish military in charge of enforcing Danish Sovereignty and acting as a long-range reconnaissance unit, travelling by dogsled into the wilderness, often for weeks at a time.

Remote, harsh, and breathtakingly beautiful, Northeast Greenland tales the breath way like nowhere else. Administratively, the area is split between Sermersooq and Avanaatta Municipalities and the vast Northeast Greenland National Park, the northernmost and largest national park in the world. So large is this protected wilderness that it is larger than all but the largest twenty nine countries on Earth, and only marine reserves are larger, in terms of protected areas. In the past, the area saw migration by waves of paleo-Eskimo cultures, all taking advantages of the rich hunting in the area, many migrating over the north of Greenland, and down the East Coast. Northeast Greenland is rich in archaeological sites as people followed the prey with the seasons. Today, the area has no permanent population, but hunters from Ittoqqortoomiit (‘People who Live in Big Houses’), the only town in the area, often frequent the area by dogsled, hunting for musk oxen, polar bears, walrus and seals, all of which are common in the area. The non-native popultaion is scattered around a few remote scientific stations, and the legendary Sirius Patrol, an elite branch of the Danish military in charge of enforcing Danish Sovereignty and acting as a long-range reconnaissance unit, travelling by dogsled into the wilderness, often for weeks at a time.

Remote, harsh, and breathtakingly beautiful, Northeast Greenland tales the breath way like nowhere else. Administratively, the area is split between Sermersooq and Avanaatta Municipalities and the vast Northeast Greenland National Park, the northernmost and largest national park in the world. So large is this protected wilderness that it is larger than all but the largest twenty nine countries on Earth, and only marine reserves are larger, in terms of protected areas. In the past, the area saw migration by waves of paleo-Eskimo cultures, all taking advantages of the rich hunting in the area, many migrating over the north of Greenland, and down the East Coast. Northeast Greenland is rich in archaeological sites as people followed the prey with the seasons. Today, the area has no permanent population, but hunters from Ittoqqortoomiit (‘People who Live in Big Houses’), the only town in the area, often frequent the area by dogsled, hunting for musk oxen, polar bears, walrus and seals, all of which are common in the area. The non-native popultaion is scattered around a few remote scientific stations, and the legendary Sirius Patrol, an elite branch of the Danish military in charge of enforcing Danish Sovereignty and acting as a long-range reconnaissance unit, travelling by dogsled into the wilderness, often for weeks at a time.

Stykkishólmur, located in western Iceland at the northern end of the Snæfellsnes peninsula, is the commerce center for the area. Its natural harbor allowed this town to become an important trading center early in Iceland’s history. The first trading post was established in the 1550s, and still today fishing is the major industry. The town center boasts beautiful and well-preserved old houses from earlier times. View less Stykkisholmur is very environmentally conscious – it was the first community in Europe to get the EarthCheck environmental certification, was the first municipality in Iceland to start fully sorting its waste, and was the first town in Iceland to receive the prestigious Blue flag eco-label for its harbor. It has also been a European Destination of Excellence (EDEN), since 2011.

Flatey is the ‘flat island’ just as the name sounds. These days Flatey is mainly seasonally populated with many brightly painted, wooden summer cottages to be found here. Like many other small islands around Iceland though, Flatey was once a hub for fishing and trade. This particular island prospered so much that it was the center of commercial and cultural life in the 19th century for this part of Iceland.

The fire, frost and water symbolized by the red, white and blue of Iceland’s flag are manifested by the ice and snow of its glaciers, the hot mud pools, geysers and glowing lava flows in the country’s volcanic regions. The island’s settlement dates back to 874 when a Norwegian named Ingolf Arnarson arrived at present-day Reykjavik. In 930, the settlers formed a legislature, the Alting, which was the beginning of the Commonwealth of Iceland. From the 10th to the 14th centuries, Iceland developed a literary form, the Icelandic Saga, which spread throughout the Nordic culture and into the English and German languages. It was used to spin stories of the gods, record historic events and glorify heroes. As Iceland’s capital and main center of the country’s population, the city of Reykjavik is a fascinating blend of the traditional and modernism. Just as Iceland is a unique country – rugged and remote, yet technically advanced and enjoying Nordic standards of affluence – Reykjavik is a highly unusual capital city. It dominates the life of Iceland in almost every way. More than half of the country’s total population of 270,000 is living in and around the capital, and the economy of the entire nation depends on Reykjavik. Nearly 60 percent of Iceland’s imports are received and distributed, and 40 percent of the country’s exports are loaded for shipment via the port of Reykjavik. It is also the headquarters of what is probably the world’s most advanced seafood industry, which counts for Iceland’s number one export.