West Greenland
Where Greenland Opens Up
West Greenland is where the country becomes easiest to reach and, we would say, easiest to love. Between the ice sheet and the open sea lies one of the largest ice-free stretches in Greenland, and it holds a bit of everything: a road that carries you to the very edge of the inland ice, tundra where musk oxen graze, the lively coastal town of Sisimiut, and some of the clearest night skies in Greenland. Whether you want to stand on the ice sheet, cruise a fjord, or simply settle into a comfortable base and let the Arctic come to you, we find the west is the region that says yes.
Come and Discover West Greenland
Impressions of West Greenland
What to See and Do in West Greenland
Our top 5 reasons to visit this region
Stand at the Edge of the Ice Sheet
Ride out to Point 660, the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet, where the white simply carries on past the horizon and no photograph gives you the scale. Standing where solid ground ends and a continent of ice begins is among the great Arctic experiences.
Ski in Winter, Paddle in Summer
Get to know Sisimiut, the colorful coastal town that skis in winter and paddles in summer, with the sharp peak of Nasaasaaq above the harbor. Greenland’s second-largest town is a working place rather than a museum of one.
Cruise the Fjords by Boat
Take to the water along the coast or into the fjords, where whales, seals, and drifting ice turn an afternoon into an event in itself. The west coast rewards time on the water as richly as time on the land.
Clear Skies Over the Ice
Chase the northern lights from Kangerlussuaq, whose dry inland climate delivers some of the most dependable clear skies in all of Greenland. When the lights appear here, they appear over the edge of the ice sheet itself.
4,000 Years of Caribou Trails
Walk into Aasivissuit-Nipisat, the UNESCO landscape between the ice and the sea where Inuit have followed the caribou for four thousand years. The stone hides and tent rings are still there, and the caribou still come through on the same paths.
"West Greenland is the part I most like to recommend to people arriving for the first time. It gives you the full sense of the Arctic without asking too much of you, and there is a moment on almost every trip where the scale of the place simply stops you where you stand. It stays with people."
Berenika Lenard
Itineraries for Inspiration
West Greenland forms the backbone of most first journeys to the country. Our itinerary inspirations below can combine the ice sheet at Kangerlussuaq with the coastal culture of Sisimiut and the icebergs of Disko Bay, at whatever speed suits you, from easy wildlife and fjord days to the full Arctic Circle Trail for those who want to walk it.
Day Tour Golden Circle Classic – Audio Guided in 10 languages
The City of Icebergs
The Painted Edge of Greenland
What our travelers find useful
Kangerlussuaq or Sisimiut as a Base
Both make comfortable hubs with hotels and guided day tours, so you can enjoy glaciers, wildlife, and fjords and still sleep in a warm bed each night. Neither asks you to rough it, which makes the west the gentlest introduction to the country.
Aurora or Midnight Sun
From late May to mid-July the sun barely sets; from late August the nights return and the northern lights begin. They make for completely different trips, so decide which one you want to build around before you fix your dates.
The Track Between the Towns
In 2025 a 130-kilometer (80-mile) all-terrain track opened between Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut, following roughly the line of the Arctic Circle Trail. It is built for ATVs and off-road vehicles rather than cars, so the two towns are still connected by air, by boat, or on foot.
An Arctic Desert
Kangerlussuaq sits sheltered from the coast in an Arctic desert, which is exactly why the Americans chose it, and clear skies are the norm. That is good for flights and even better for the northern lights, but the temperature swings hard: summer can pass 20°C (68°F) and winter can hit minus 40°C (minus 40°F).
The Sled Dog Line
Kangerlussuaq and Sisimiut are the two southernmost places in Greenland where sled dogs may be kept, because below that line there is simply not enough reliable snow. If dog sledding is on your list, this is as far south as it gets.
Greenland stories to inform & inspire
Why Ilulissat Is the Perfect First Chapter of Your Greenland Story
Spring in Greenland Still Looks Like Winter, and That Is the Point
Iceland, the Faroe Islands, Greenland: Which One Is Right for You?
Discover More of Greenland
South Greenland
South Greenland is the green, welcoming introduction: sheep farms above turquoise water, Norse ruins a thousand years old, and an island hot spring reachable only by boat.
Capital region Nuuk
Nuuk, the capital, blends real city life with an Arctic setting: museums, murals, cafés, and a fjord at the end of the street, all now within one flight of Europe.
Ilulissat & Disko Bay
Ilulissat and Disko Bay center on a UNESCO icefjord where the ice sheet lets go of its ice, with humpbacks in the bay and boats that sail past midnight.
North Greenland
North Greenland is the far top of the map, where dogs still pull the sleds that carry people and their catch, narwhals rise between the ice floes, and the summer sun simply will not go down.
East Greenland
East Greenland is the Arctic without any softening, reached easily from Iceland, home to the greatest network of fjords on the planet, painted villages on bare rock, and a soapstone carving tradition all its own.