- Where
- Uummannaq Fjord, west Greenland
Avannaata municipality - Coordinates
- 70.6747° N
52.1264° W - The mountain
- 1,170 m, “heart-shaped”
(Air Greenland; Wikipedia) - People
- 1,407 (2020)
(Wikipedia) - Founded
- 1763, as Omenak
(Wikipedia) - Getting there
- Fly to Qaarsut
then helicopter across the strait - Advisory
- Greenland Level 2
The houses were red, blue and yellow, perched on bare rock, and all of them faced the same enormous wall of mountain, as if waiting for it to say something. Below them the sled dogs sang together, all at once, then stopped. White shapes drifted along the fjord, slowly. Nobody else so much as glanced up. I gazed for most of the night, and the light never once went.
The short answer
Uummannaq is a town on Uummannaq Island, in the south-central arm of Uummannaq Fjord in central-western Greenland, part of the Avannaata municipality; the fjord system, Wikipedia records, empties north-west into Baffin Bay. Air Greenland puts the island at about 12 square kilometres and about 460 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. Wikipedia gives the town’s population as 1,407 in 2020, the eighth-largest in Greenland, and records that it was founded in 1763 as Omenak and is a hunting and fishing base. Behind the town rises Uummannaq Mountain, which Wikipedia says climbs very sharply to 1,170 metres and can be climbed only with technical skills. Air Greenland translates the name as “the heart-shaped”.
Why it's worth knowing
Uummannaq has a heliport with no facilities, because its island, Wikipedia explains, is too small and rocky to hold an airstrip long enough for Air Greenland’s fixed-wing aircraft. The airport that serves it, opened on 25 September 1999, stands at Qaarsut on the Nuussuaq Peninsula, about 25 km across the water; its terminal building is labelled “Uummannaq” all the same. Passengers change there to a helicopter for the short crossing. Wikipedia records that the airport was meant to relieve the old helicopter route from Ilulissat, 164 km away, and that the bottleneck was never quite solved, because everyone must still be shuttled across the strait.
The setting is also why the town’s weather is unusual. The high, glaciated mountains of the Nuussuaq Peninsula shelter it from coastal winds, and occasional warm foehn winds from the south-east can lift the temperature above freezing even in winter, which is why, Wikipedia says, the area is considered the sunniest spot in Greenland.
The field notes
A church of the hills’ own stone
Visit Greenland describes Uummannaq’s church as the only church in Greenland built entirely of stone, apart from some of the old Norse churches: it was made from granite cut from the nearby hills and finished in 1935. The town also keeps the memory of a stranger visit. Wikipedia records that in 1932 the director Arnold Fanck and the Universal Greenland-Filmexpedition made the film S.O.S. Eisberg near Uummannaq.
Where Father Christmas lives
Danish and Greenlandic children are told that Father Christmas lives in Spraglebugten, a bay on the west of the island. Wikipedia records that a turf hut was built there for a Danish television programme and “remains Santa’s home in the popular imagination”, and Visit Greenland lists the walk out to Santa’s cabin among the things to do in town.
Ice, dogs and light
The year turns on the sea. When the fjord freezes, Visit Greenland says, the town’s many sled dogs go back to work, and the sledging season usually runs from February to May, depending on the winter, because all of it is done on the sea ice. In summer the sun does not set, and boat trips go out among the icebergs. In winter it disappears altogether; Visit Greenland gives 4 February as the day it returns to Uummannaq. In the summer months, Wikipedia notes, Royal Arctic Line runs small ships between the town and the villages of the fjord.
The church and the houses of Uummannaq below the icebergs, September 2023.
Photograph: Christof46 · CC0
The granite church at Uummannaq, September 2025.
Photograph: Carina Gsottbauer · CC BY-SA 4.0
The town of Uummannaq seen from the west, photographed by Th. N. Krabbe between 1889 and 1909, with a sailing ship at anchor and an iceberg below the cliffs across the fjord.
Photograph: Th. N. Krabbe, National Museum of Denmark via Unsplash · Unsplash licence · cropped
- Build slack into both ends of the trip. The weather keeps the helicopter’s diary, and it does not hurry.
- Admire the sled dogs from where you stand, and leave any closer introductions to the people they belong to.
- Give the mountain a proper look once a day. I made that an item, then made it again each morning, which is one way of making a list look busy.
- Get out on the fjord with a local skipper, and ask whether the engine might be cut for a while.
- Find the stone church and sit on its steps for a while. The town will go about its business round you, which is rather the point.
Uummannaq Mountain. A wall of rock that rises very sharply from the edge of the town to 1,170 metres, so close behind the houses that it fills every view inland. Its outline gives it its name, the heart-shaped, and the town takes the name from the mountain. It can be climbed only with technical skills; nearly everyone who comes here simply lives, or stays, at its foot.
Tally, in the marginA mountain with the outline of a heart, behind a town that gets on with things without once glancing up. Late in the evening I understood: nobody stops to check on their own heart, either.
Getting there
How to get there. Fly with Air Greenland to Qaarsut, which is reached on the route from Ilulissat, then take the Air Greenland helicopter across the strait to Uummannaq Heliport. Wikipedia notes that Qaarsut is marketed as Uummannaq’s airport and describes it as the town’s only daily connection.
When to go. Summer for the midnight sun and boat trips on the fjord; February to May for dog sledding on the sea ice, which Visit Greenland says depends on how the winter freezes.
What to arrange ahead. Flights well in advance, and spare time at both ends: the State Department warns that Greenland’s weather can be harsh, and small planes and helicopters fly when it allows. Book boat and sledge trips with local operators through Visit Greenland’s listings.
Safety. The State Department has Greenland at Level 2, exercise increased caution, because of extreme weather and limited emergency services. It warns that search and rescue in remote areas could take several days to arrive, and advises travelling with a professional guide or organisation and carrying travel, medical and evacuation insurance.
Mark this place
Common questions
Where is Uummannaq?
Uummannaq is a town on Uummannaq Island in Uummannaq Fjord, in the Avannaata municipality of central-western Greenland. Air Greenland places it about 460 km north of the Arctic Circle; Wikipedia gives its population as 1,407 in 2020.
What does Uummannaq mean?
Uummannaq is Greenlandic for “the heart-shaped”, according to Air Greenland. The name describes Uummannaq Mountain, the sheer 1,170 m peak that rises directly behind the town on Uummannaq Island in west Greenland.
How do you get to Uummannaq?
Fly with Air Greenland to Qaarsut Airport on the Nuussuaq Peninsula, then take a helicopter across the strait to Uummannaq Heliport. Wikipedia explains that Uummannaq Island is too small and rocky for an airstrip, which is why the airport, opened in 1999, stands about 25 km away at Qaarsut.
Can you climb Uummannaq Mountain?
Only with technical climbing skills. Wikipedia describes Uummannaq Mountain as rising very sharply to 1,170 m behind the town of Uummannaq in Greenland and notes that climbing it requires technical skills. Most visitors see it from the town, from the fjord by boat, or from the helicopter on arrival.
Does Father Christmas live in Uummannaq?
Danish and Greenlandic children are told so. Wikipedia records that a turf hut built for a Danish television programme in Spraglebugten, a bay on the west of Uummannaq Island, remains Santa’s home in the popular imagination, and Visit Greenland lists the walk to Santa’s cabin among the town’s attractions.
When can you go dog sledding in Uummannaq?
Visit Greenland says the sledging season at Uummannaq usually runs from February to May, depending on the winter, because all sled driving there is done on the frozen sea of Uummannaq Fjord.
What is special about Uummannaq Church?
Visit Greenland describes the church in Uummannaq as the only church in Greenland built entirely of stone apart from some of the old Norse churches. It was built of granite from the hills around the town and finished in 1935.
Is Greenland safe to visit?
The U.S. State Department has Greenland at Level 2, exercise increased caution (advisory dated 29 October 2024), because of extreme weather and limited emergency services. It warns that search and rescue in remote areas could take several days and advises travelling with a professional guide or organisation.