A Hidden Gem on Greenland’s West Coast

Hiking to a natural cave, remote mountaintop and paradise beach

It was mid-July when we visited Qasigiannguit, a really cosy town with a beautiful and varied Arctic nature. Not many tourists come to this part of Disko Bay, unlike the bustling life in Ilulissat. But it’s a bit of a gem for outdoor enthusiasts with many great hiking routes (as you can see on the map below).

In the backcountry there are both musk oxen and reindeer. Sadly, we didn’t see them while we were there. Instead, we saw many humpback whales🐳 swimming by in the Disko Bay.

This is our report from a superb hike on the blue and orange trails, where the highpoint – literally – was the view from the top of the Qaqortorsuaq mountain. At an altitude of 451 metres, the outline of the town was razor sharp, its sounds carried by the wind right up to us.

We started the day by walking down to the town museum, which consists of some of Greenland’s oldest houses dating back to the colonial era in the 18th century. At the museum we saw an exhibition about some of the first people in Greenland, the Saqqaq people. Many finds have been made in the area from when they lived here no less than 4,500 years ago.

Leaving the beautiful old wooden houses, we followed the road past the sled dog pitches until we reached the start of the blue trail. This is marked with a sign with a map and info about the trail. From here we also had a great view of the small bay with the boats, and Qasigiannguit town nestled against the cliff sides.

The Old Colony

We continued a few hundred metres towards what is called the Old Colony, where Qasigiannguit was first founded by the Danish colonists in 1734. It turned out not to be a good place to live back then as it was very exposed to the wind, so in 1763 they moved across the bay to where the town is located today.

There should be a number of remains of the old colony, and we eventually managed to locate some grass-covered house plots. From there we crossed a small river and continued in relatively damp terrain. However, we made it through fairly dry by jumping over small pools and streams and balancing on the laid-out wooden pallets.

Bing Cave

After about 3 kilometres of walking, we came to the Bing Cave (Bings Hule). It was a good thing we had a map with us, otherwise we could easily have walked past it without noticing it. The cave is located on a rocky hillside on the left hand side, somewhat above the terrain.

The Bing Cave is a natural rock cave 8 metres deep, formed in a quartz vein inside the harder gneiss. On the sides of the cave we saw some really beautiful crystals of smoky and pink quartz.

It is said that the ancient Greenlandic shamans used the cave for ceremonies back in the day. The Danish name of the cave comes from Andreas Bing, who in the 1730s was the area’s first Christian missionary and who supposedly prayed to his god in the solitude of the cave. It’s dark and cold inside the cave, so it doesn’t seem to be the most comfortable place to stay.

About 100 metres south of Bing Cave, the hiking route splits in two and we chose the orange marked path towards the top of Qaqqarsuaq mountain.

To the top of Qaqortorsuaq

First, there was a bit of climbing up to a slightly higher plateau. Then we walked a few hundred metres through a valley, still on ascending terrain, after which we turned around the ‘corner’ of the mountain massif to head northeast.

We continued northeastwards on rising terrain with the Qaqqarsuaq mountain on our left and an elongated, beautiful valley landscape on our right. After about 2 kilometres, we followed the orange marks in an arc to the northwest via a small gorge, which we walked up through to a small lake. From this lake, we climbed steeply to the right to the top of the mountain at an altitude of around 450 metres.

Here a fantastic moment awaited us. The view was simply sublime and took our breath away. Not least over Disko Bay as far as the eye could see, but also a fascinating view of the town of Qasigiannguit. We could see the individual houses, the roads, cars travelling, boats sailing, and almost people walking around. At least we could see people when we used the panoramic binoculars that the local footbal team has installed.

The experience was further heightened by the unique atmosphere that arose when the sounds of the town were carried up to us with the wind. We could hear the barking of the sled dogs. Somewhere a car accelerated, and from the fjord came the delayed sound of a speeding motorboat. But otherwise, we were completely alone on the mountain top and had not met any other people on our trip.

To the north, we could also see the settlement of Ilimanaq with the binoculars, and behind it all the giant icebergs of the Ilulissat Icefjord. We could even see the chimney of the power station in Ilulissat. After this wonderful experience, we headed back down and followed the same way we came up until we were near the Bing Cave again.

Kangerluluk – Paradise Bay

As a final stop on our hike, we had set our sights on Kangerluluk Bay, also known as Paradise Bay (Paradisbugten in Danish). We followed the blue stones, but otherwise it wasn’t difficult to find our way as we had a full view of the bay.

Paradise Bay turns out to live up to its Danish/English name, because at the bottom of the almost symmetrical bay lies a heavenly beautiful sandy beach. We dipped our toes in the calm but chilly water. If the air and sea had been about 20 degrees warmer, it would have been the perfect beach 😊

The blue trail continues on from Paradise Bay via a partially marked 7 km route to a viewpoint called Nuuk (Næsset). However, we didn’t make it any further that day as it was late evening, so we turned our heads back home in the beautiful, low evening sun.