Tasiilap Nuua: Autumn and winter hiking to the land’s end

During my eleven weeks in Tasiilaq on Greenland’s East Coast, I spent much of my free time hiking. One of my favourite places to hike was on Tasiilap Nuua, the promontory that separates the town with the vast ocean. I went for three hikes in the area, all in completely different weather.

An autumn hike in late September

I woke up late that day – it was Sunday after all. To my great regret, it was sunny outside with the clearest blue sky. That’s not usually something I’d be regretful about, but I’d promised to open the museum just 2,5 hours later. I desperately wanted to go for a hike in the good weather, so I decided to hike up to a viewpoint on a hill I’d previously hiked to, which was just 10 minutes away from my apartment. And then I’d hike on from there for as long as I possibly could before having to turn around. That was when I discovered the hiking paradise of Tasiilap Nuua.

I got ready, had some breakfast and headed outside at 11.40 AM. I had to be at work at 1 PM. I didn’t exactly leave myself much time!

I walked up to the trailhead for the viewpoint, but then saw that there was a well-trodden path going around the hill, one that I hadn’t yet hiked. I decided to follow the path and I was able to for quite a while before the path became large rocks. The sun was warming my whole body, making me regretful for the second time that day, but this time due to the many layers of clothing I was wearing. It is Greenland, after all, but when the sun is out, it’s hot.

I was in a constant lookout for polar bears as I hiked on towards the sea. I knew that the chances were tiny, but the chance is always there in Greenland, so you must be on the lookout for them to give yourself any possibility to escape. I desperately want to see a polar bear, but I also desperately want to live, so I’d prefer seeing one from the safety of a boat someday, not while I’m hiking unarmed and alone in the wilderness.

It was going quite well timewise, so I decided to try to hike out to the very end of the promontory, or at least as far as possible, before having to turn back.

I hurried as much as I could while still stopping once in a while for photos and to listen for polar bears. I walked on an on, until I came to a point where I could go no further. I’d have to hike down into a gorge with a stream running through it, cross the stream and hike back up on the other side. It would take time, and my time was running out, but I was so close. I had to try.

Once at the other side, I actually found another well-trodden path winding upwards, which I could follow for a while until that one turned into rocks as well. I walked a bit further and then came to a halt. I could see that the promontory continued a bit further, but between me and this piece of land was another gorge, and this one went all the way down to the ocean. There was no way I could cross it, and finding a different way would take too long, so I’d have to call it a day.

I stood for a while, taking in the gorgeous views before leaving for work. In front of me was only ocean, for as far as the eye could reach. On the other side of it is Europe.

12.24 PM, just 36 minutes before work, I turned back and walked as quickly as I could, back down the hill and into the small gorge, which I followed upstream until I could no longer follow it. The views down in the gorge were wonderful, but the amount of garbage not so much. Quite frankly, it was shocking to see such a large amount of garbage so far away from the town, in the middle of stunning nature. Oh humans.

Up I went again and soon, I spotted the first houses of Tasiilaq. I was close! 20 minutes to go, I hurried even more, fell a few times, and at 12.53 PM, I was finally on the road towards the museum. I got there just in time, not a moment to spare.

I was thrilled I’d been able to make it all the way out to the ocean and back in less than 1,5 hours! But as I found out, I needn’t have hurried as the museum didn’t get any visitors that day. I guess the weather was just too good for people to be inside!

A winter hike in late October

Fast forward a month or so, and I was back on this very trail, but this time with Augusta and Eleanor, who had come to visit me for a week. It was the end of October and the snow had fallen, changing the landscape completely.

We had planned to do the same hike, but adding on the opposite side of the big lakes, where there’s a hill with cairns right up close to Qaqqartivakajik. We started early at 7.30 AM as I had a meeting in the afternoon and we didn’t know how long it would take, but we ended up only spending three hours on the entire hike, which was less than imagined. It’s not a hard trail to hike, but snow and ice makes everything more difficult.

I wasn’t sure whether or not we would be able to cross to the other side of the lakes, but we managed to find a way to cross over the frozen river running from the lakes to the ocean, and onto the hill on the other side. The hill was quite steep to climb, but it didn’t take long for us to reach the top, from where we had a great view of the promontory and the vast ocean.

To get back to town, we wanted to hike along this side of the lakes, but it turned out to be impossible due to steep gorges that weren’t visible from the other side. Had there not been snow and ice, I feel sure it would’ve been possible, but there was no way we could do it that day. So instead, we hiked back to the other side and walked back to town.

A sunny hike in the snow in November

I had hoped that the drift ice from the North Pole would come before I left Tasiilaq, but it didn’t. Usually, it passes by every year in November, on its way from North Greenland to South Greenland, but it changes every year due to climate change. Tasiilap Nuua would’ve been the perfect place to watch it. But I still chose to go for yet another hike there on my last Sunday.

I hiked to a new area this time, the northernmost part of the promontory and most of the way out to the ocean until I could get no further. Hiking in glistening snow on a sunny day was a beautiful experience. It was the perfect last hike in Tasiilaq – well, apart from the fact that I fell on my butt three times!

That was three very different hikes in this beautiful area. If I ever come back to Tasiilaq – which I hope I will – I want to come at the time when the drift ice is visible. Tasiilap Nuua would undoubtedly be the perfect place to see it!