Kulusuk
Kulusuk is a small Inuit settlement of around 260 people on a rocky island off the southeast coast of Greenland, surrounded by jagged mountains, drifting icebergs, and the open waters of the Denmark Strait. It serves as the main gateway to the Ammassalik region of East Greenland, with an international airport receiving direct flights from Reykjavík in around one hour and forty minutes, making it one of the most remote communities in the Arctic also one of the most accessible from Iceland. The residents speak Tunumiit, the East Greenlandic dialect, which differs significantly from the West Greenlandic spoken elsewhere in the country. Traditional hunting and fishing remain central to daily life, and the settlement retains a character shaped more by the Arctic environment than by tourism infrastructure.
One of the Most Remote Communities in the Arctic, Reachable from Reykjavík in Under Two Hours
Kulusuk's name translates as the chest of a black guillemot, a reference to the shape of the island when seen from above. The settlement was formally established in 1909 near an older habitation site and was previously known as Kap Dan. East Greenland remained largely unknown to the outside world until 1884, when the first European scientific expedition reached the Ammassalik area, and the communities here have had less than 150 years of contact with the wider world compared to centuries of engagement on the west coast. The East Greenlandic Inuit, the Tunumiit, maintained a distinct culture and language as a result, and Kulusuk offers a rare encounter with a community whose traditions were shaped entirely by one of the most demanding Arctic environments on Earth. The small museum in the settlement, run by local resident Justine Boassen and largely containing objects from her parents' collection, documents the history of the Tunumiit Iivid and is one of the most authentic small cultural institutions in Greenland.
The village church is one of the most unusual in Greenland. It was built around 1922 using timber salvaged from a Danish fishing vessel that was stranded near the settlement, and a replica of that ship hangs from the church ceiling to this day. The stained-glass windows were donated by a German glasswork owner who visited and fell in love with the place, and the interior contains sealskin decorations on the altar and other details that reflect the local Inuit identity within a Christian framework. A short hike from the village leads to the decommissioned DYE-4 radar station, part of the Cold War-era Distant Early Warning Line, which sits on a hilltop at 329 metres above sea level with panoramic views across the Denmark Strait toward Iceland. The station was closed in 1991 and its hulking remains are visible on the ridge above the settlement.
Kulusuk airport receives international flights from Keflavík in Iceland with Air Iceland Connect, a crossing of around one hour and forty minutes, and connects internally to Tasiilaq by helicopter and to Nuuk by Air Greenland. The walk between the airport and the settlement takes around 40 minutes through Arctic tundra. Hotel Kulusuk, a short walk from the shoreline with views of the Apusiaajik glacier, is the only hotel operating within a Greenlandic settlement. Activities from Kulusuk include guided hikes, dog sledding in winter, boat trips among icebergs, and transfers to Tasiilaq for access to the wider Ammassalik area. Summer offers midnight sun and wildflowers; winter offers northern lights and sea ice.
