Tips for Travelling to Kulusuk, Greenland

If anyone is lucky enough to be making the trip to Kulusuk, Greenland you are in for quite an adventure. Stepping off the airline onto this remote arctic island is the North American equivalent to stepping onto the surface of the moon. Imagine yourself surrounded by gray mountains on one side, a bay of aqua-colored icebergs on the other, with glaciers that rise out of the water like mountains.

The village of Cap Dan boasts a population of roughly 360 hunters, fisherman, and small children (the teenagers get sent to boarding school in Angmagssalik). Their box-shaped houses are made from wood and painted solid red, green, yellow or blue, supplying almost all of the color in this barren land. There is only one water source in town, a small hut with a pump that leaks and covers the surrounding ground in ice in the winter, providing a hazard for the older inhabitants who haul empty, giant plastic jugs to the pump in wheel barrels and fill them and bring them home.

A visit to Kulusuk is the embodiment of the term "roughing it" yet the Inuit know no other way. They have no fast food, no express lane, no fiber optics or Federal Express. They did have cell phones, soccer, Adidas and one girl even walked through the village rocking out to her iPod. A visit to Kulusuk is quite an experience and here are some tips to make the most of your journey.

Air Iceland operates flights out of Reykjavik every day except Sunday and there are other ways to get to Kulusuk but getting there won't be the focus of this article. Let's discuss what to do once you've already booked your transportation!

Pack something to eat. The flight from Reykjavik lasts for two hours and they might give you a little snack but it won't be enough. You will do a lot of walking once you land and other than a small store in the village and a very small snack bar in their tiny little airport, there is no place to grab a bit to eat. You will be starving by the time you get back to Iceland so bring something hearty to chomp on.

Use the bathroom in the airport or be prepared to walk behind some rocks. There are no public restrooms in Kulusuk except for the one in the airport. Once you leave and start walking to Cap Dan (about a mile) there is nowhere to go!

The bugs are terrible. At least they were in July so bring bug repellant, a hat or a cigar.

The currency is the Danish Krone or the Icelandic Krona. There is a small store and a separate gift shop. Both will accept any currency but with a huge markup. They also accept Visa but add a fee. You're better off paying in these native currencies, and it's best for the people of Kulusuk too.

A boat will take you back to the airport. After you've spent several hours walking around the village and outlying area (which includes a couple of unique graveyards) you will need to head back to the airport. The men of the village operate a fleet of speedboats. Tickets for these boats can be purchased in the souvenir shop - you're ok to walk back but the boats will take you into the bay for some close up looks at the icebergs and drop you off near the airport. Be sure to give your ticket to the boat driver when you get off because they take the stubs back to the gift shop to get paid.

Throw your garbage away in the right place or take it with you. It was amazing to see pollution in a community so small but the walk to Cap Dan was littered with beer cans, plastic wrappers and cigarette butts. It hindered the beauty and mystique of the experience to see litter and realize that you were just one of hundreds of tourists who have passed though the village. Don't ruin the experience for others and definitely don't pollute this tiny little village that gets invaded by foreigners every day.

Bring a camera. The villagers may say no but the scenery says yes! The glaciers and mountains are breathtaking and the little houses are quite picturesque but ask permission when photographing the people. Some say yes but some react with a resounding hell-no.

Do not miss your flight! This is a no-brainer but really - there is no standby in the Kulusuk airport. You can stay in the small hotel overnight, if they have vacancy, otherwise you'll be sleeping under the stars.

It's an amazing experience. Starting with your descent into Greenland, the icebergs and rocky mountains that grow out of the water provide a bumpy blue-black landscape unlike anything you've ever seen. The dirt runway and barren land that surrounds the airport gives a foreboding warning that you are very far away from home but once you climb the hill that overlooks the tiny village, you will be overwhelmed with scenery and the feeling that you are experiencing something pure. The trip lasted for less than 12 hours but it was worth every minute. I'd go there again if getting there wasn't such a damn challenge.

Enjoy your visit and take a look at some pictures.