First published: 02/07/19.

Zoë Sheng 5.0

Ilulissat Icefjord

Ilulissat Icefjord (Inscribed)

Ilulissat Icefjord by Zoë Sheng

"I have seen things you people wouldn't believe" is the only quote that comes to mind when I look at the epic, 40km long, blindingly white and ever-moving, ever-changing, ever-glorious Ilulissat Icefjord aka Sermeq Kujalleq.

I don't usually dish out 5 stars but this is almost worth a six! I saw many places in the world, many glaciers too and even the multitudes at Vatnajökull National Park just two days prior did not prepare me for this. Just look at this mammoth on the satellite images! Ok, so enough about this *drinks coffee to calm down*, first off it doesn't come cheap to come to Ilulissat. The cheapest fare from Reykjavik set me back 400 Euros plus the domestic flights to get around Greenland, and of course a return to Reykjavik (although Copenhagen is another good choice if you are heading for Europe instead if North America). Hotels are expensive, kind of like staying in Copenhagen, groceries are maybe the most expensive I have ever seen (even higher than Norway) and forget about a budget meal dining option. I cooked myself to compensate for all the costs but my "cheap-o" guest house wouldn't pick me up from the airport for free. Anyhow, so you dished out all that to make it to Ilulissat, good for you.

I saw the fjord from the plane. Foggy but clear enough to get some shots with my camera. The first thing you will see in the bay are floating icebergs. The ever changing "landscape" of flipping icebergs and ice platforms makes for a wonderful view. If your hotel offers a seaview you may want to upgrade. The daylight doesn't stop in summer and you can watch it all "day". More rewarding is a kayak trip into the icebergs to be really within them. Feeling one of the icebergs flip just nearby is a feeling that you will never experience again. The sound, the vibration, the waves. If you don't want to kayak you can of course take a boat trip amongst them but I found it more like watching a 4D movie because you have a) a motor running b) a boat crushing ice constantly to numb the effect. The boat can, however, get into the actual fjord area rather than just stop at the ice field. So i do recommend both. I could not take my camera kayaking so all the closeup pics were from my guide.

Another beautiful bonus are humpback whales swimming in the bay. They come scary close to the kayaks and are possibly more dangerous for us to flip over than then icebergs, or them causing more to flip around. Unfortunately I only saw it briefly and it must have swam back out into the open.

Other ways to see the icefjord is via helicopter, naturally not cheap but with good visibility worth doing, or hike along the entire thing for multiple days!! I didn't do the latter. There is more none-icefjord related stuff to do but it is of course the superstar amongst the region.

What makes the icefjord so unique is the fast moving glacier, some sources say 10m others 40m per day so I can't say for sure but you can actually watch the glacier calve, constantly pushing out icebergs into the bay. If you saw one example of this, probably the ice lagoon in Vatnajökull, you will understand what it is like but think 10x bigger and, epic, to use the word again. Another unique part is that so many icebergs, or rather chunks of ice at that point if you ask me, are stuck inside the glacier waiting to be set free at the end.

I have to place Ilulissat Icefjord into my Top 10 places right away, wondering why it had taken me so long to see it or why it is not on every bucket list among Machu Picchu, Giza, The Great Wall etc. It's gotta be the remoteness and price tag, but in the end it is worth every penny. I will definitely be going back one day!

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