Greenland offers innumerable paths to those willing to seek them out. The challenge is figuring out on which path to start because it’s a country without roads, rental cars and light rail. I had only enough time (and money) to choose one quadrant and pin it. So I chose backpacking in South Greenland because of its Viking history and luscious green landscapes and rugged fjords that made it ideal for backpacking
Narsarsuaq was my jumping off point. From there it was a boat transfer to Itelleq on the Tunulliarfik fjord, hike to Igaliku, boat transfer to Sillisut, hike to Tasiusaq and three days of camping on the ice fjord at a campsite that was spitting distance from a Viking ruin. Then a hike to Qassiasuq, followed by another boat transfer back to Narsarsuaq. Boat transfer, hike, boat transfer, hike and camp, boat transfer hike, etc, etc.
Here’s what I learned about South Greenland along the way.
1. It’s the anti-Reykjavik
Walk through Reykjavik at night and you can feel the technopop from the bars and nightclubs deep in your abdominal cavity (I blame Iceland Air and their Stopover Deals). When I arrived in Igaliku (population 35), I heard nothing. No planes flying overhead, no car horns honking. No city buses spewing carbon monoxide, hydro-carbons or nitrogen oxides.
It helps that there are maybe four cars in the entire town. The only alcohol-centric place is the lobby of the tiny Igaliku Country Hotel or the “liquor aisle” of the Pilersuisoq, Igaliku’s one (and only) source for alcohol (as well as plenty of other items in small quantities). When backpacking in South Greenland, think of the Pilersuisoq as your local REI.
Igaliku, Greenland population 35
2. I Could Have Left the Moleskin Behind
When backpacking in South Greenland, there is only one rule: Sheep. Everywhere. Where there’s sheep, there are clumps of wool everywhere—on the hiking paths, the top of mountains, trapped in bushes and on fences, undulating in the breeze. I had brought along a package of Wuru Wool to mitigate any blisters that could emerge from days of hiking and carrying a heavy pack. Turns out I could have left it at home because the free stuff was everywhere.
Wuru Hiker Wool: $12 
Naturally-shedded sheep wool undulating in the breeze: $0
3. I Should Have Brought my Kavu Chillba Hat
When the sun shines 20 hours a day and there are no trees for shade, a regular visor just doesn’t cut it. I left the Chillba hat behind because I thought it’s wide brim would interfere with the top of my backpack. Instead I packed a Kavu visor and a Buff. Meh.
4. It is Possible to Make a Campfire in a Country with no Trees
There is plenty of dried up bush branches that keep a small, manageable fire going for a few hours in the evening. On the off-chance a piece of driftwood floats into a fjord from Europe or North America, grab it and horde it like a prized diamond. A campfire would have been heaven. Firing up an existing field oven when I camped, and cooking a musk ox meat loaf, would have been the pièce de résistance. But I didn’t bring matches because.
5. You can’t Escape Tinkle Paper on the Trail
Ladies, for god’s sake. Bring a ziplock baggie. Or bury it under a rock if you can’t pack it out. Ever hear of Leave No Trace? It applies everywhere and to everyone. Especially when backpacking in South Greenland.
6. The Coffee was Forgettable
For a country that applauds coffee as its national drink and devised an official tradition around it, I had expected to be blown away by Greenland’s coffee. Instead, I was completely underwhelmed. Thankfully I’m enough of a coffee snob that I packed a couple boxes of instant Starbucks and Stoked Roasters Stoked Stix just in case. A brilliant move!
7. Jamie Lannister from Game of Thrones has a house in Igaliku
I tapped out of Game of Thrones after the first season (gratuitous violence and nudity does nothing for me) so I knew next to nothing about the actor. I creeped him on Google. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. It all made sense. He’s a Danish actor and is married to a Greenlander. It’s easy to see why he chose cute, sweet, little Igaliku for his holiday home. It’s quiet, peaceful, out of the way, and private—or at least it was until I posted this article.
8. The beer is cheaper than beer in Norway
This shocked me. When I visited Norway in 2015, I paid $16 (in USD) for a craft beer in genteel cities like Bergen, Stavangar, Lillehammer and Trondheim. In Greenland the price of Qaqaq beer, my favorite, was a very reasonable $8-10 (in USD) depending on where I bought it. It helps to sustain the local economy and it’s one of the items produced in Greenland. Taste wise, it spanks anything painstakingly brewed in the finest American craft breweries.
9. The food. Wow. The food.
Igaliku’s only “grocery store” is housed inside the Pilersuisoq, a Greelandic chain of variety stores. The variety is that under it’s small roof is Greenland’s version of Hyvee, Home Depot, Target, TJ Max, DSW, REI, Bed Bath and Beyond, Total Wine, UPS, Cabela’s and the post office. The grocery aisle is takes up all of eight feet and food items were limited to very basic foods: pastas and sauces, Ramen-type noodles, crackers, cheeses, tins of canned fish and ham, canned soups, packages of cookies and chocolate, long-shelf vegetables preserved in layers of vacuum-sealed plastic wrap to sustain the long journey from Europe and a big massive barrel of onions and potatoes. The meat section offered big hunks of frozen whale, seal parts, lamb and mutton, pre-made musk ox patties, and what I think may have been packaged chicken parts.
Despite the lack of abundant options, it was healthy and nourishing. No GMO’s, low on the lab-born preservatives. The real treat was how the chef at the Igaliku Country Hotel served dinners made from all local ingredients: sausages made from reindeer, musk ox and lamb. Halibut and cod from the fjords. Blueberries and wild thyme foraged picked from the fields.
10. Melted Iceberg Water didn’t Live up to its Hype
Leading up to the trip I dreamed of kicking back at camp and sipping a glass of Scotch clinking with 15,000 ice cubes. Except that I couldn’t find any Scotch in Greenland. Instead I carved a chunk off an iceberg that remained lodged on the beach after the tide ebbed and boiled it down in my stove. I used it for oatmeal, tea, coffee and to fill my hydration pack. It was refreshing and clean but no more refreshing or clean than a bottle of Voss.
