Visit an Inuit Village in Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland

While some people might enjoy a simple vacation on a tropical beach, others seek something more unique in their travel destination. For those of us in the western world, perhaps nothing is more unusual than spending a week in an Inuit village in Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland.

While the small village of about 425 citizens can be difficult to get to, the journey can be half of the adventure in the summertime. Visitors can travel along the eastern banks of the country and enjoy an immense landscape of frozen tundra and solitude. Or, travelers can take one of the weekly flights from nearby Reykjavik, Iceland.

Once in the village, located next to the largest and most intricate fjord system in all of Greenland, visitors can take part in a number of activities including kayaking, dogsledding and hiking the largest mountain in the country — Mt. Gunnbjorn. Visiting the hot springs is a popular way to warm oneself up before eating a dinner consisting of seal, ox or bear and watching the northern lights illuminate the night sky.

While there is no formal protocol or tour group designed to help visitors meet the locals, most Greelanders of the area are easy to talk to and welcoming to outsiders. They may invite you in for kaffemik — an old tradition of welcoming guests into one’s home to enjoy a couple cups of coffee for three to four hours. Those visiting the area can stay in the only lodging in the village — a cozy seven-room guesthouse as they recharge for the next day’s activities.