The World's Largest Island Has Dramatic Landscapes And Epic Adventures (And Is Three Times Larger Than Texas)

In the far northern reaches of our planet lies an extraordinary place filled with majestic glaciers, cerulean lagoons, and volcanic rock formations. This is Greenland, an autonomous nation of the Kingdom of Denmark, with a 4,500-year-plus history of human settlement. This Arctic land mass lies between the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, with Canada's Ellesmere Island 16 miles to the northwest and Iceland 200 miles to the southeast. On a map, it appears as an enormous white expanse because 80% of the mammoth island is covered by an ice cap: the Greenland Ice Sheet. This offers travelers boundless opportunities for winter activities like dog-sledding, skiing, and snow-trekking. It has also created an unparalleled landscape — an impossibly white wonderland with a mountainous coastline, glacial pinnacles and crevasses, dramatic fjords, and rapidly-flowing rivers.

Here's a piece of trivia you may already know: Greenland is the world's biggest island that isn't a continent. At an impressive 836,330 square miles (including its offshore islands), Greenland encompasses an area roughly three times larger than Texas. And the silver medalist doesn't even come close in size: New Guinea, the second-largest island, has an area of just over 317,000 square miles.

This country blends ancient traditions with modern thrills — in one day, you could learn about important Inuit rituals like the drum dance and mask dance, view Greenlandic art, try your hand at fly fishing, and take a flightseeing tour in a helicopter high above brilliant-white icebergs. In short, Greenland, a sustainable, gorgeous, and wildly underrated island, is one of the most spectacular places on Earth to witness otherworldly landscapes, go on epic adventures, and have authentic Indigenous cultural experiences.

Greenland, still a burgeoning tourism destination, is an outdoor adventurer's dream. Packed to the brim with ice caves, trails, and waterfalls to explore, the country offers a plethora of guided tours to partake in year-round. Ilulissat, the "iceberg capital of the world," has one of the Big Arctic Five experiences — ice — with its Ilulissat Icefjord. A UNESCO World Heritage site, this approximately 35-mile-long fjord is a dreamy seascape dotted with icebergs that have broken off from Sermeq Kujalleq glacier. Get the perfect aerial view of calving glaciers on a fixed-wing plane flyby or sail through the maze of ice during the evening golden hour. You can also mountain bike or trek alongside the fjord at your leisure.

From January until April, snow bunnies can hit the slopes — Nuuk, the capital, has the highest lift, which takes skiers and snowboarders to the top of a 5,900-foot peak. Those with advanced abilities can join a heli-skiing trip, where you'll drop into untouched slopes with extraordinary coastal vistas below. And if you want to journey at a slower pace, you can tour the backcountry on snowshoes. A quintessentially Greenlandic experience is dog-sledding, an ancient Indigenous mode of transportation dating back thousands of years. Try your hand at it (ideally between February and April) in the west-coast towns of Kangerlussuaq or Sisimiut, which are also hotspots for snowmobiling. Feel the exhilaration as you connect with these powerful Arctic hounds and fly across the snow-covered terrain.

During the warmer months, you can take part in numerous water-based activities. Go on a stand-up paddleboard tour, keeping your eyes peeled for whales breaching. Or take out a kayak, an invention originating in the Arctic, and enjoy the solitude of the sea, surrounded by imposing peaks.

Deciding when to visit Greenland will depend on what you'd like to see and do. Those seeking out the flickering dance of the aurora borealis may wish to venture here in the months of September, October, March, or April (the shoulder seasons), when temperatures aren't as low as in the dead of winter and the country isn't ensconced in the vast darkness of the polar night. Meanwhile, a summer trip brings you into contact with the midnight sun, a period where the sun never dips below the horizon, from roughly late April until early August in the north. Landscapes are at their most photogenic, as the rugged terrain is gently lit with warm colors. This is also the prime season for fishing, trekking, and boating.

To reach the island, you'll need to fly or motor in (on a chartered boat or cruise). Kangerlussuaq and Nuuk airports (both in the southwest) are two of the main international hubs. The latter has direct flights to nine domestic and foreign destinations, including Copenhagen, Reykjavik, Iqaluit (Canada), and Newark (seasonal). But don't assume that Nuuk is just a place to land — here, you can enjoy both Greenlandic and international fare, visit various museums, hike along trails through the wilderness, and even spot delightful seabirds on Puffin Island, one of the best places to see wild puffins roam, just an hour south of the mainland by water taxi.

If you'd like to embrace slow travel and access the country by sea instead, you'll find an abundance of Arctic cruise operators ready to oblige. For example, one of the most anticipated cruises of 2026, the Canadian Arctic Explorer, brings passengers from Kangerlussuaq all the way to St. Johns in Newfoundland, Canada on a thrilling, 17-night polar expedition.