Greenland Day Two: Nuuk: A Couple Of Hikes Exploring It’s History, Culture And Natural Beauty

On my first night  in far north Nuuk,  Greenland the  midnight sun kept me up.  I was tired and tried to sleep after my late evening walk. Nuuk is not above  he Arctic Circle,  where the sun doesn’t set for  few month  yar.  However, being a few hundred mile away   it does have only a few hours of night on the Summer Solstice.  I  kept getting up after the sunset at 12;15 a.m.  to see how dark it would get. This was the  view from my window at 1:15 a.m.  I dozed off shortly after taking this  photo. But the sun rose around  4:45 a.m. and the light had me up again.

I tried to fall back asleep for  a few more hours but couldn’t.  So  I had some coffee, dressed and  decided to take a short hike though Nuuk  before breakfast. I  was walking to the harbor again around 6 a.m.  It was cloudy and cool with a light drizzle. The temperature was 50 degrees,  which is actually mild for Greenland in the Summer.  I only planned a short  hike since  I was then going  hike on one of the trails outside of town later.  I left the hotel and walked past, what I would later learn,  is a modern supermarket and shopping mall across from  the hotel.

I walked  toward the harbor on the quiet streets, lined with rocks. There are rocks and boulders everywhere in Nuuk.

I observed some of the  art and drawings on the small shops,

and walked past the large, new   housing units that  are found everywhere in Nuuk,  the capital city of Greenland. There was not a single motor vehicle or person on the roads   early on Sunday morning. m

But there were a lot of  large ravens. They were everywhere in Nuuk.  I saw them and heard their cries and calls  throughout the day.

A few yellow legged seagulls also occasionally flew overhead.

I came to the cliff above the rocky shore below. The older , colorful homes of Nuuk were built along the cliff , with the modern housing units  recently  built above them.

There are plenty of steps leading to the shore  in Nuuk.  I walked down a long flight of wooden steps  to the shore, Above me the statue of Hans Egede looked down from the hilltop.

Instead of following the shore to the harbor, I  walked along a road that took me up another cliff and through an older  residential neighborhood  in old Nuuk.

In investigated the homes, and gardens. I love roaming the streets of foreign cities and towns.

The  colorful homes were  built at the edge of the cliff over the waters of the fjord where Nuuk is located.

There were many  flowers blooming in the gardens  here, including,  I believe,  Iceland poppies,

scented mayweed flowers,

and  Nootka lupine flowers .  Like the many wild dandelions they were invasive and grew ,amu spread along the shore.

Another common in invasive plant was garden angelica. It grew everywhere along the streets in Nuuk.

 

I saw my first song bird , this snow bunting. I have heard them  in Pennsylvania but never saw one. This is the female.  I saw a male  but couldn’t get a photo. These amazing birds breed in the Arctic along the cold, rocky cliff of the ocean. They spend the Winters in  northern North America, Europe and Asia.  I hope I might see this one as it travels south in the Winter.

I walked to the edge of the cliff. taking in the views of the mountains in the distance towering over the colorful quaint homes of old Nuuk.

A light drizzle began to fall as I walked back to my hotel,  through the still quiet town,

past the local business, listening to the cries of the ravens. I walked about 2 miles when I made it back to my hotel. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos from my morning hike.   Greenland Day Two: Nuuk morning harbor hike July 20 2025.

After some research my plan was to hike the Paradise Valley trail. It is located  beyond  the airport about five miles outside of Nuuk.  A steady rain began to fall and delayed my hike. I edited photos and then had a wholesome and filling meal at breakfast buffet at the hotel.

The rain slowed down, and around. 10 a.m I arranged for a taxi to drop me off at  the Paradise Valley trail. It was located near a prison miles in the middle of nowhere. I  enjoyed my taxi ride chatting with a native Inuit who moved to Nuuk when he was 2 years old. He showed me the house he lived in on the way to the airport. He was my age and we had a nice chat about how quickly the years go.

He dropped me off below the prison. I wondered what I got myself into as the taxi left me in this remote location when two friendly local women with backpacks were dropped off by a taxi.

We talked about the trail.  They said it crossed  a river and then came to a lake.  

Before starting my hike, I took some photos of the snow I found along the road in the middle of July.

There were also patches of these pretty cotton grass flowers along the road.

An iceberg floated in the waters of the fjord below the road/ trail.

Not far from where I was dropped off I  came to this surreal array of geodes and learned it was associated with a large satellite facility gathering data from polar orbiting satellites.

It provided an alien like contrast with the rocks, water and mountains in this remote location.

I walked on the paved road for about a 1/2 mile, and saw a rope that lead over the cliff.

Below I saw this fish hanging from a line along the shore under the cliff, left I’m sure by local fishermen .

I came to a parking lot where the paved trail ended. Here I met and chatted with a local couple. As we talked this arctic  fox ran across a hillside

It appeared to have some sort of bird in its mouth. The couple was excited seeing the arctic  fox and said it is not common. It was a great start to my hike.

I left the parking lot and walked up the hillside where the trail really began and where  I saw the arctic fox. The meandering trail was muddy and rocky. It took me through a treeless tundra like landscape.

There were other critters along the trail besides the fox. There flies , swarms of them. I did remember to apply insect repellent, and couldn’t if I wanted to, the repellent I packed was confiscated at the airport.

The ground was covered with plants, lichens and some wildflowers. I believe these are arctic willow and above in the photo , black crow berry plants.

I also would see on my 2 1/2 mile hike, these pretty pink mountain heather flowers,

field chickweed,

 

and Labrador tea flowers.

My favorite was the dwarf fireweed flowers, the national flowers of Greenland. I hope my identifications are correct. I relied on my plant ID app.

I was surprised and delighted to find these fragile mushrooms. I enjoy foraging for wild mushrooms and live to find them on my travels. Finding them in Greenland was amazing. I thoguht  they are a species of wax-gill mushrooms but have now learned they may be a lichen.possilby  heath  navels.

After crossing a stream the trail took me up one  steep ridge and then down another. The trail split into many smaller paths to avoid the rocks and mud. I encountered a number of backpackers and hikers as I trudged along.

I came down to the fjord where I saw this campfire ,

and a few campsites with tents. I imagined how beautiful it would be camping out here in this pristine, remote place.

I had hiked out about 1 mile when I came to the fast flowing river.

They was no  bridge. To cross it you’d have to jump across the rocks, which looked slippery. In my younger days I would have no problem scrambling over the rocks. However I’m not young anymore, and I have some shoulder and back issues , so I didn’t want attempt crossing the river alone. Disappointed I turned back.

 I first  followed a trail upstream and saw a nice waterfall. Nearby was a tent and a camper. I was surprised on how many people camped and hiked out here on this remote trail.

I decided to hike back, seeing a few more  backpackers on the way.The only other critters I saw on my hike, besides the flies and fox were some seagulls flying along the shore. I believe this is a lesser black backed seagull.

I trudged up the ridge and down to the road. I called the taxi service hoping someone would answer. It was a 5 mile hike back to town.They did and soon a taxi showed up with another native  Inuit driver. Again we had a nice chat about, life, politics and food. Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos from the second part of my hike.   Greenland Day Two: Nuuk. Paradise Valley hike  July 20 2025.

It was early afternoon when I returned to my room. I edited some photos and was soon off again to explore Nuuk and learn more about Greenland.It wasn’t as peaceful on this walk. A cruise ship docked at the port and the town was crawling with tourists. I walked to the cliff above the harbor,

and saw tourists in blue jackets everywhere, some inspecting the statue of Hans Egede overlooking the harbor.

I walked down to the harbor, and past the Hans Egede house ,

and then to the Greenland National Museum.

I entered the museum and fought my way through the lines of tourists from the cruise ship and began to explore the many informative exhibits and displays.

I learned so much history  here, from the first inhabitants who arrived before the Inuit.  These are mummified  remains of some of thewse folks

The brief colonization by the Vikings in the Middle Ages.

Their disappearance and the migration of the current Inuits to the island.

In the 1700’s the return of the Europeans , led by the Danish /Norwegian missionary Hans Egede.

Denmark then administered Greenland as a colony, until it was given home rule in 1979. It still remains a part of Denmark.I spent about an hour perusing the wonderful exhibits from kayaks and boats,

to clothing. So much I learned about our planets largest island. I could have spent hours, or days learning more.   Here is  a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos from my visit to the Greenland National Museum. Greenland Day Two: Greenland National museum   July 20 2025

However it was getting late in the afternoon and I was getting hungry. I decided to walk back to my hotel , but first took some photos of the many seagulls flying over the waters,  I am not an expert, and these identifications are from Merlin, but  believe this is a  great black-backed seagull swimming in the cold waters

and this is one of the many flying overhead. ,

this  I believe is a lesser black-backed gull,

and this a glaucous gull.

and this one swimming in the ocean.  Here is a link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos of the birds I saw . Greenland Day Two: afternoon birds.   July 20 2025

I returned to my hotel around 5 p.m , showered and discovered the famous  seafood restaurant at my hotel was closed Sunday. I decided to walk to the nearby Esmeralda Restaurant. It was a great decision. I started with a large bowl of local seafood soup. It was delicious one of the best I ever had.  And they gave a generous portion too.

I had  force myself to eat  the excellent main course of baked halibut, grilled mushrooms and baked little potatoes I ordered.  It was a great meal, but way too much, even after hiking  over 6 miles. I was full and tired. I returned to my room around 7 p.m. edited photos and worked on my blog. I tried to sleep early again but the late evening light wouldn’t allow me.  I eventually fell asleep when it got dark, around 1a.m. It wouldn’t matter how much sleep I got. I was excited to do some more exploring of Greenland when I awoke. I am not a fan of the cold but I loved this northern land and it’s friendly people.

 

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life.”  – Rachel Carson

“Going to the Arctic was immense for me” Frederik , Crown Prince Of Denmark.