HAVE AN ICE TIME IN GREENLAND THIS AUGUST
While Londoners have been sweltering in parks and cafes during this balmy midsummer weather, Greenlanders have been making use of their land’s naturally chilled water to cool-off, as illustrated in a series of seriously cool images recently released on Visit Greenland’s website. The shots show Greenlanders posing waist-deep in water in front of icebergs, diving into half-frozen lakes wearing nothing other than swimming trunks and paddling in turquoise waters, fringed by jagged peaks and rolling fields.
The images have been released to inspire Brits to push the boundaries when it comes to their choice of holiday destination. As the planet’s largest (non-continental) island with vast swaths of breathtaking wilderness, towering icebergs and vast fjords, Greenland offers the perfect location where to cool down this August.
Super-hardy thrill-seekers can get their kicks by taking the plunge in some of the world’s most remote waters (and for those who aren’t such a fan of being immersed in chilly water, it’s a land of hot springs too):
Surrounded by mountain peaks and drifting icebergs, the uninhabited island of Uunartoq in southern Greenland – close to the settlement of Alluuitsup Paa, is home to the only place where hot springs are warm enough to take a dip. With three naturally heated springs running together into a stone pool, visitors to this natural phenomenon can float in waters as warm as 38 degrees centigrade, whilst soaking-up the stunning vistas of nearby icebergs.
Further north lies the town of Ilulissat (which translates as Iceberg) - Greenland’s most popular tourist spot, situated at the mouth of a 40km ice fijord filled with enormous icebergs calved from the ocean, reaching Sermeq Kujalleq glacier, the biggest glacier and ice stream outside Antartica (and now also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site). Here, travellers are often spotted taking boat trips throughout the summer months and swimming out among the ice flows. With water temperatures reaching a maximum of five degrees centigrade, if this doesn’t prove enough to put hairs on your chest, then the shot of schnapps waiting for you once you return to the boat, certainly will!
Whilst in the far south, the southern shore of Greenland - nicknamed the ‘Banana Coast’ by locals, due to its easy accessibility and green landscape in summer, is another area not to miss. Lying on the same latitude as the Shetland Islands, the towns of Narsaq and Qaqortoq are the main jumping-off points from where to take a dip in the crystal clear Arctic waters. This verdant shore is characterised by myriad of fjords and mountains, flowering plants and sheep farms side by side with floating icebergs and glaciers.
Greenland, the planet’s largest (non-continental) island, and one of the most sparsely populated, consists of vast swaths of breathtaking wilderness mixed with a glacial coverage of around 84% of the island’s landmass. With an ever growing number of trips being offered by adventure and cruise ship operators over the last year, the island has been witnessing a significant increase in tourist arrivals to its remote shores.
For further information on Visit Greenland, visit www.greenland.com.
ENDS
For further information, please contact Susannah Glynn or Daniela Marchesi at Kallaway:
E: Susannah.glynn@kallaway.com / Daniela.marchesi@kallaway.com
T: (0)20 7229 4595
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About Visit Greenland
Visit Greenland is the national tourist board of Greenland and a government owned agency for the development of tourism in Greenland.
The National Tourist Board is dedicated to developing and promoting Greenland as an adventure and exclusive cruise destination through destination development, regional and national branding, innovation and marketing.
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