Kangerlussuaq - Kangerlussuaq Expedition northern Canadian Arctic and west Greenland - in the wake of Arctic legends

Immerse yourself in the myth of vastness, ice, and adventure on an expedition undertaken by the HANSEATIC spirit. On a northbound course, your own explorer’s log fills with experiences that are written nowhere else. Your first destination is Baffin Island. Deep fjords, high cliffs, lakes, and glaciers characterise the landscape. You engage closely with the wilderness in the Zodiac and on hikes to glacier moraines. Only with a small ship like the HANSEATIC spirit and its Zodiacs can these areas be explored, including the largest uninhabited island on Earth, Devon Island. Resembling a Martian landscape, it serves as NASA research terrain for space missions. A silent witness to the remoteness is in Dundas Harbour, where a deserted station of the Mounties, Canada’s mounted police, remains. On Beechey Island, too, adventure and history await, as you explore past daring expeditions of the Northwest Passage with your experts: three participants of the Franklin Expedition of 1845 found their final resting place here. Pay them tribute and, on landing, let their courage and fate come alive.

Which route will the ice open through the northern Canadian Arctic? The captain and crew react flexibly to the conditions on site. Thanks to the highest ice class for passenger ships, the HANSEATIC spirit makes her way north. How far exactly? Only nature knows the answer. When your ship visits Jones Sound, the clear polar air is filled with the cries of thick-billed murres and black-legged kittiwakes. Musk oxen often inhabit the coasts, which you may be lucky enough to observe during landings and from the many open deck areas. Which course will your expedition ship take? Through Cardigan Strait or Hell Gate? Fascination awaits along the very rarely visited west coast of Ellesmere Island. The tenth-largest island in the world has been a national park since 1985 and takes your breath away with views of spectacular mountain peaks and glacier formations. Cruising in Norwegian Bay is also shaped by nature and the experience – keep an eye out for mighty bearded seals, which can weigh up to 300 kg. Approximately 1,000 kilometres from the North Pole, Eureka is considered the northernmost weather station in the world. A “base” of Arctic wildlife and another area for our Zodiacs is Axel Heiberg Island. Here live snow hares, musk oxen, Arctic foxes, and polar bears. The final entries in your explorer’s log are made along Greenland’s west coast.

Entire pages could be filled with the Inuit culture, about which your experts provide fascinating insights – for example in Uummannaq. Colourful wooden houses lie picturesquely at the foot of a heart-shaped mountain. The activity of the glacier at Ilulissat becomes apparent on the walk to the Icefjord, where countless icebergs tower. The fascination culminates in the famous Disko Bay. Here, massive ice floes drift slowly through the water. Marvel from on board and from the Zodiac at the sparkling scenery. Human-made artworks impress in the centre of Sisimiut. Exploring the museum village or on another walk with your experts, following the traces of the millennia-old Inuit culture, you will draw a conclusion of this expedition route: unforgettable!