Nuuk (Godthab) à Nuuk (Godthab)

Dans la capitale animée du Groenland, vous pourriez oublier que vous vous trouvez dans un pays aussi vaste et isolé. Nuuk est le centre économique et social du Groenland, elle abrite plus dun tiers de la population groenlandaise et, bien quelle ressemble à une capitale mondiale, si lon gratte la surface, on découvre un caractère groenlandais unique. La cathédrale de Nuuk surplombe le magnifique quartier du vieux port colonial et le musée national du Groenland, où reposent les légendaires momies Qilakitsoq, véritable point fort de la collection archéologique du musée. Afficher moins Au-dessus du port colonial se trouve le centre-ville de Nuuk, avec des lignes dappartements de style scandinave, un quartier commerçant animé, le Parlement groenlandais, lhôtel de ville de Nuuk (qui accueille les visiteurs pour voir ses œuvres dart) et même des cafés en plein air vendant de la nourriture et de la bière produites localement. Ces clins dœil à la modernité se disputent lespace avec les boutiques dartisans locaux, le marché de la viande qui vend les prises des vastes fjords de Nuuk, et létonnant centre culturel Katuaq, où des films à succès, ainsi que des artistes locaux et étrangers, divertissent les habitants de Nuuk. Bien que Nuuk ait longtemps été un creuset didées danoises et groenlandaises, cest une ville où le Groenland affiche sa sophistication, avec les seuls feux de signalisation, ronds-points et université du pays. Par-dessus tout, attendez-vous à trouver une multitude de personnes amicales, fières de ce quelles sont, et tout aussi fières de la ville quelles appellent leur foyer.

Located in the central part of Greenland’s western coast, Maniitsoq is Greenland’s sixth-largest town, and home to less than 2700 inhabitants. The main attractions are the small museum and old cemetery at the northern end of town. At the community hall local artist and artisans usually exhibit some of their carvings and beadwork. The beadwork pieces are not created just as souvenirs for visitors — the national dress of the West-Greenlandic women uses an elaborately beaded collar. Fishing trips and even heli-skiing on nearby mountains are considered Maniitsoq’s other assets. View less Its local name (meaning ‘place of rugged terrain’) contrasts somewhat with the name given by the Danish in 1782 (‘New Sugarloaf’).

Three kilometers off Yukon’s north coast, only Workboat Passage separates Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk from Ivvavik National Park. The low-lying treeless island of 116 k2 was Yukon’s first territorial park. Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk has been declared a National Historic Site of Canada in 1972, was classified as a Nature Preserve in 1987, designated a Natural Environment Park in 2002 and as an example of the technologies and techniques used for living and construction over the past several millennia. View less It is now also on the tentative UNESCO World Heritage Site list! Itilleq is an important area for Ice Age fossils. Normally snow-covered during winter, the island shows abundant and diverse wildlife, with many migratory birds, including the largest colony of Black Guillemots in the Western Arctic, caribou, muskox, polar bear, and brown bear on land and bowhead and beluga whales, ringed and bearded seals, and occasionally walrus in its surrounding waters. The Inuvialuit community has used the area for hundreds of years. When Franklin arrived in 1826 he saw three of their camps. Remains of their old dwellings are still visible near Simpson Point. This is where in the late 1800s, American whalers established a now abandoned station. At the height of the Beaufort Sea whale hunting period there were 1,500 residents. Several of the historic buildings by whalers, and later missionaries, traders and the RCMP are still standing – although some had to be moved further inland to escape the rising sea level.

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. View less 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.

Sisimiut (‘The People of the Fox Holes’) is Greenland’s second city, the largest Arctic City in North America, and a hub between the warmer South and the frozen North of the country. With a young, dynamic population, including students from all over the country, Sisimiut is one of the fastest growing cities in Greenland. View less Inhabited for more than four and a half thousand years, the Danish Colonial Era saw the rapid development of the city into a trade centre, and the old buildings and artefacts can be seen at Sisimiut Museum, a collection of beautifully restored buildings displaying everything from ancient turf houses to modern Inuit art. The local artisans are considered some of the best in Greenland, and often sell their wares direct from their communal workshop in the harbour, where they barter with hunters for raw materials. Today, modern industry focussed on processing sea food and shipping; KNI, the state-run chain of general stores operating in even the most remote settlements is based in Sisimiut. Most residents still live in the colourful wooden houses Greenland is so well known for. Sisimiut’s vast back country offers excellent opportunities for hiking and fishing, and the locals often use sled dogs or snowmobiles to get around their vast mountainous playground during the long winters. In the summer, one can walk as far as Kangerlussuaq International Airport, a trail also used for the gruelling Polar Circle Marathon, one of the toughest endurance events in the world.

Evighedsfjord (Eternity Fjord) is a large fjord northeast of Kangaamiut in southwest Greenland. The fjord has a length of 75 kilometers and several branches with numerous glaciers coming down from the Maniitsoq Ice Cap to the north can be seen. The Evighedsfjord has several bends and whenever the ship reaches the supposed end the fjord continues in another direction and seems to go on forever. Qingua Kujatdleq Glacier is at its southeastern end. At the northwestern end a U-shaped valley has seven glaciers coming down from the mountains but not reaching the water. The glaciers had their maximum extent around the year 1870 and have gone through several cycles of advance and retreat. The mountains on either side of the fjord can reach in excess of 2,000 meters and the fjord has a depth of up to 700 meters. Evighedsfjord’s snowline is at 1,100 meters and the Evighedsfjord region is famous as one of Greenland’s best heli-skiing areas.

Dans la capitale animée du Groenland, vous pourriez oublier que vous vous trouvez dans un pays aussi vaste et isolé. Nuuk est le centre économique et social du Groenland, elle abrite plus dun tiers de la population groenlandaise et, bien quelle ressemble à une capitale mondiale, si lon gratte la surface, on découvre un caractère groenlandais unique. La cathédrale de Nuuk surplombe le magnifique quartier du vieux port colonial et le musée national du Groenland, où reposent les légendaires momies Qilakitsoq, véritable point fort de la collection archéologique du musée. Afficher moins Au-dessus du port colonial se trouve le centre-ville de Nuuk, avec des lignes dappartements de style scandinave, un quartier commerçant animé, le Parlement groenlandais, lhôtel de ville de Nuuk (qui accueille les visiteurs pour voir ses œuvres dart) et même des cafés en plein air vendant de la nourriture et de la bière produites localement. Ces clins dœil à la modernité se disputent lespace avec les boutiques dartisans locaux, le marché de la viande qui vend les prises des vastes fjords de Nuuk, et létonnant centre culturel Katuaq, où des films à succès, ainsi que des artistes locaux et étrangers, divertissent les habitants de Nuuk. Bien que Nuuk ait longtemps été un creuset didées danoises et groenlandaises, cest une ville où le Groenland affiche sa sophistication, avec les seuls feux de signalisation, ronds-points et université du pays. Par-dessus tout, attendez-vous à trouver une multitude de personnes amicales, fières de ce quelles sont, et tout aussi fières de la ville quelles appellent leur foyer.