Travel Through Time in Greenland
The sense of time is unique in Greenland. In some towns, for example, there is no night but rather light around the clock in the late spring and early summer. With an area three times the size of Texas and only 55,000 residents, there is plenty of room to play -- virtually all of it undisturbed, virgin arctic wilderness. And historic activities and traditions, like dog-sledding, are still much a part of the fascinating culture of Greenland.

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ISLANDS contributing writer-photographer Jad Davenport recently went on a cruise to Greenland along the route mapped above, where he ended up commandeering the ship to take himself and even the passengers on a hunt for a lost Viking settlement that mysteriously vanished centuries ago. See Jad's video and read his article "Greenland's Ghost" from the November 2009 issue.

Greenland Airports
Fly to the international airport of Kangerlussuaq, known as the "gateway to Greenland."

Greenland Cruises
For his Greenland trip, Jad Davenport was on board the National Geographic Explorer ship for the "Viking Saga" voyage offered by Lindblad Expeditions as it left from Iceland and went around the southern coast of Greenland. That cruise itinerary won't be offered in 2010, instead going to the Faroe Islands and Scotland. Norwegian Coastal Voyages does have several Greenland cruise itineraries for 2010, from eight to 14 days. Polar Star Expeditions offers a 19-day "Viking Trail to the Americas" among its offerings that include a leg from Iceland to Greenland.

Greenland Tours and Activities
Kayak where the activity originated with Inuit hunters from Greenland. Since the 1980s the sport has become a favorite pastime here. Take a multi-day guided tour of the fjords in remote Scoresbysund on the eastern coast, or at Maniitsoq. Or hike the classic, 90-mile trek from Sisimiut inland to Kangerlussuaq. From coastal fjords to tundra, musk ox, reindeer, arctic foxes, high lakes, and the inland ice caps, this strenuous hike offers a look at some of Greenland's natural treasures.

Greenland Souvenirs
Japan has its netsukes, and Greenland its tupilaks -- small carvings of grotesque, demonic figures that once represented mythical or spiritual characters to be used against an enemy. Once made mostly from bone, today the figures are generally carved from reindeer horn and narwhal tusk. Now a popular souvenir, the tupilaks vary in quality, but in the hands of a gifted Inuit artist, they still evoke the Greenlandic heritage.

Greenland Official Tourism Site
Learn more through the Greenland Tourism and Business Council.