Qaanaaq

Qaanaaq^{[dead link]}, formerly known as Thule, in northern Greenland is one of the world's northernmost civilian settlements, topped only by Longyearbyen on Svalbard and a few military bases. Getting here will be a challenge, as permits may be required for use of the nearby Pituffik Space Base (formerly Thule Airbase), under U.S. control.

Understand

The alternative name for this settlement is Thule, a name still used by the nearby airbase. The word comes from the Latin "Ultima Thule", meaning the Far North Land.

Get in

Permission

A permission to enter or travel through Thule Air Base could as of April 2007 be obtained by sending an application to the foreign affairs department in Denmark. Details can be found (only in Danish) at the national ombudsman's homepage^{[dead link]}.

If you live outside Greenland or do not have Danish citizenship then you must provide the following information:

Name
Birthdate and birthplace
Permanent address
Purpose of the journey
Place of residence during your stay
Name of the travel agency through which the ticket will be/has been booked.

Applications can be sent or faxed to:

Udenrigsministeriet

Asiatisk Plads 2

1448 København K

Denmark

Telefax: +45 33 92 01 70

By plane

77.488611-69.3886111 Qaanaaq Airport (NAQ ^IATA). Air Greenland flies twice per week from Upernavik, which has flights from Ilulissat. These flights are very expensive.

Get around

77°28′0″N 69°13′50″W

Map of Qaanaaq

By foot

The town's pretty small, and you should be able to get around it on foot.

See

77.467791-69.2375131 Qaanaaq Museum, ☏ +299 971473. Features paintings, sculptures, carvings and photographs from the historic Thule trading station. (updated Mar 2019)

Do

Buy

Eat

77.468829-69.2361831 Qaanaaq Supermarket. (updated Oct 2020)

Drink

Sleep

77.46928-69.23171 Hotel Qaanaaq, ☏ +299-971234, hotelqaanaaq@gmail.com. Only hotel in town, has a handful of no-frill rooms and shared bathroom. If fully booked they can help out with arranging other accommodation. Boasts its own small restaurant serving up both lunch and dinner. (updated Mar 2019)

Go next

The Northeast Greenland National Park is the obvious next destination.

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