Greenland: Dogsledding the Ultimate Thule

• Intermediate-level travel by dog sled
• 12 nights wilderness tent camping, 2 nights Hotel Qaanaaq
• A total immersion in the landscape and culture of the High Arctic

Rated one of the Top 25 Greatest Adventures by National Geographic Adventure magazine, this trip is a window into the unique, nearly bygone way of life of the Polar Inuit, one of the world’s last truly traditional peoples. Here is a culture where many of the ancient practices—hunting with harpoons, wearing skin clothing, and traveling exclusively by dog sled—have survived for centuries.

This expedition is a far-from-ordinary travel adventure into the realm of legend; in ancient mythology, ‘Ultimate Thule’ lay beyond the northernmost edge of the known world. Our journey offers rare insight into the traditional lifestyle of the Polar Inuit who live at the earth’s highest inhabited latitudes. We travel with these Inuit hunters, descendants of the great Thule culture whose fathers helped Robert Peary and Matthew Hanson in their quest to reach the North Pole. We may find caribou and musk ox as well as polar bear, seals, arctic fox and an astounding array of seabirds. The scenery is simply stunning —a riveting landscape of icebergs back-dropped by mountain cliffs that rim the massive bulk of the inland ice cap. There will be plenty of opportunity to hike or ski in the 24-hour sunlight.

Our visit takes place during the spring, when the ice edge is a dynamic phenomenon in the Arctic. Wildlife concentrates here to forage on the abundance of plankton and fish that open water and sunlight foster, creating a place of remarkable biological productivity. As we travel with the Arctic’s most traditional hunters, we venture to the edge of the world’s largest polynya (an ocean area free of sea ice). The warmer spring temperatures and perpetual sunlight of late April and early May mark the arrival of hundreds of thousands of sea birds, which include thick-billed murres, northern fulmars, common eiders and little auks, or dovekies. Along the way we will observe and photograph the Polar Inuit hunters in action. We will break camp most days and travel up to 15 nautical miles to our next camp. For active guests there is an opportunity to ski and hike nearby peaks.

This trip requires no special fitness level, only that you enjoy living and camping in the outdoors and are prepared for whatever weather comes our way. If you yearn to explore as our early adventurers did over a century ago and want to experience fully the Top of the World culture -- a first-hand encounter with a society that has changed very little over the last centuries -- this unparalleled expedition is for you.

17 Days

2012 Dates
Mar. 20-Apr. 5
Apr. 3-19

Trip Difficulty: Level 3

2012 Fees
Land Cost*

Group Size 8: $9,190 from Qaanaaq, Greenland* 

Internal Flights 
$ 3200 Copenhagen to Qaanaaq, Greenland

*Price does not include international airfare or mandatory trip insurance. Prices are given in US Dollars.