Northeast Greenland National Park

Northeast Greenland National Park is in Northern Greenland. Northeast Greenland National Park is the largest National Park in the world.

Towns

• 1 Danmarkshavn – a weather station.

Understand

Musk oxen can be found in Northeast Greenland National Park

History

The park was created in 1974, although it has since been expanded from its original size.

Landscape

Greenland is a very mountainous country, with valleys which are often a few thousand feet deep. Glaciers and fjords dominate the glacial valleys. However, further inland, an ice sheet covers Greenland's surface, creating flat terrain at an elevation of several thousand feet.

Flora and fauna

Due to its northern location, plants and animals in Northeast Greenland National Park are limited.

The park is home to an estimated 40% of the world population of musk ox.

Climate

The coldest regions of Greenland are the high inland regions. For example, in 1 Summit Camp, a weather and research station near the apex of the Greenland ice sheet, typical daily maximums in January are around −35 °C (−31 °F), and even in July −10 °C (14 °F). The record low is −63.3 °C (−81.9 °F). However, all of northern Greenland is cold. Even in Ittoqqortoormiit at the coast south of the park, average July temperature is about 10 °C (50 °F) in the day and 2 °C (36 °F) in the night, while average winter temperatures there are around −10 °C (14 °F) and −20 °C (−4 °F) respectively.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Nerlerit Inaat Airport (some 40 km (25 mi) from Ittoqqortoormiit). There is not really much close to the airport so you will have to book a helicopter shuttle to get onwards; still, this is the most feasible and comfortable entry point.  

Fees and permits

For any visit to the park you need an expedition permit, see Greenland#Expedition permits.

Get around

Essentially, one is free to explore the park. However, for those who are not used to being in such remote circumstances, it is probably best to stay closer to tourist guides than polar bears.

See

On the coast, one can see glaciers and musk oxen; inland is dominated by the continental ice sheet.

• 1 Kaiser Franz Joseph Fjord. (updated Feb 2022)
• 2 Kaffeklubben Island. The northernmost undisputed piece of land on Earth. (updated Aug 2022)
• 3 Zackenberg Station. An ecological station. (updated Jul 2023)

Do

Explore the park.

• Fifty degrees north is a company arranging tours in the park, such as an eight-day cruise with a visit in the park.

Buy, eat, and drink

Don't expect any services in the park. Bring everything you might need.

Sleep

Lodging

No one permanently lives in the area, so there will not be any lodging.

Camping

Bring your own tent and camping materials.

Backcountry

Everywhere in Northeast Greenland National Park is "backcountry". One can travel for hundreds of miles and not see one sign of habitation.

Stay safe

There are polar bears for a start, and the weather is cold all year, extreme in winter. Also, the park is extremely remote, so if something goes wrong, you might be on your own. The helicopter at Nerlerit Inaat Airport can do rescue in the southern part of the national park, but a satellite phone is needed to make contact as there is no phone network – and geostationary satellites are mostly at the horizon behind some peak, so bring a phone suited for high latitudes.

For more ordinary risks, there are all those relevant for backcountry expeditions to the kind of landscapes you plan to visit (such as of glaciers). Have your long-range lenses to avoid getting closer than a few hundred metres to musk oxen and other wildlife that might get disturbed and irritated. Don't get blisters or infected wounds, don't break a leg, don't loose your map, don't have the wind take your tent.

Go next

Other parts of Greenland: Greenland is a large country. There are other destinations in the east (to the south of the park – such as Tasiilaq), west (Nuuk and Sisimiut), or south (Narsarsuaq).

Iceland: If one visits Northeast Greenland National Park on a 50°N tour, they will then go to Iceland.