Greenland
Kangikitsok, Greenland
Kangikitsoq: A Fjord Call in Greenland's Far South
These fjords lie in the far south of Greenland, in the district that runs down to Cape Farewell, the island's southern tip. Dress for cold wind and spray on deck, because summers here are cool.
Good to know
What Cruise Travelers Should Know About Kangikitsoq
There is no settlement or port called Kangikitsoq. The name belongs to three fjords in the Nanortalik district of southern Greenland, and your ship's daily program will say which one you visit and whether there is any landing.
- The Nanortalik district stretches from the island of Qeqertarsuaq near Alluitsup Paa down to Cape Farewell, Greenland's southern tip, and covers about 15,000 square kilometers.
- Summers here are cool; the average July temperature in Nanortalik, the district's main town, is about 8 °C.
- Greenland's currency is the Danish krone (DKK).
- Polar bears occasionally drift in from East Greenland on sea ice, mainly from January to June, so follow your guides' instructions on any landing.
Life in the Nanortalik District
Fewer than 1,100 people live in Nanortalik, the district's main town, and several small settlements lie nearby. Small-scale fishing, crab fishing, hunting for seals and seabirds, and tourism provide most local income.
- Nanortalik means "place of polar bears" in Greenlandic, though bears are rarely seen there.
- In spring, hunters go out among the outer islands for hooded seals, which arrive on pack ice drifting up from the east coast.
- Sea ice closes the waters to fishing for several months of the year, so the district has no large-scale fishing industry.
- Like most of southern Greenland, the area is losing people; Nanortalik's population has fallen in recent years.
- Henrik Lund, who wrote the words of Greenland's national anthem, "Nunarput, utoqqarsuanngoravit," is among the notable people from Nanortalik.
A Brief History
Compared with the rest of Greenland, the Norse reached the Nanortalik area early and the Inuit late. The district's present town grew from a trading post founded in the 18th century.
- Nanortalik was founded in 1770, and a permanent trading depot was set up there in 1797 by traders from Julianehåb, today's Qaqortoq.
- Because its harbor was poor, the town moved about 3 km north in 1830 to the site it occupies now.
- A graphite mine worked about 20 km from the town until 1925.
- In 1919 Nanortalik had 5 European and 284 Greenlandic residents, most of them living by sealing.
- Nanortalik became a town in 1953, and a heliport has linked it to air travel since 1966.
- The Nalunaq gold mine, about 30 km north of Nanortalik, operated from 2004 to 2013.
- Since 2009 the district has been part of Kujalleq municipality.
- To learn more ashore, visit the Nanortalik Museum, set in the buildings of the old colonial harbor in Nanortalik, if your itinerary also calls there.
Kangikitsoq with Children
Plan for time out on deck in the cold. Dress everyone in layers with a windproof jacket, hat and gloves.
- Younger children: Keep binoculars handy for icebergs and for seals; ringed seals are the most common in the fjords here, followed by hooded and harp seals.
- School age: Look for minke whales, which are common near the mouth of the Tasermiut Fjord from August to October; humpbacks and orcas are seen now and then.
- Teenagers: Count the seabirds: ravens, glaucous gulls, eiders, guillemots and white-tailed eagles all live in the district.
- Any landing: Stay with the group and close to your guides, because polar bears can reach these coasts on drifting ice.
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