Oqaatsut is a small whaling village with about 30 permanent residents.

It is located 21 km north of the centre of Ilulissat and is a great destination if you want to experience an authentic Greenlandic village, untouched by mass tourism and at the same time very accessible (by Greenlandic standards).

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Why visit Oqaatsut?

The village has no tourist attractions. And this is the main reason to visit Oqaatsut.

Experience raw, authentic Greenland and life here like you'll find few other places in the world.

There are no roads in Oqaatsut, everyone gets around on foot and in winter on snowmobiles. The vast majority of the inhabitants still fish for a living, so boats are the main means of transport.

How to get there?

Oqaatsut is the closest village from Ilulissat and is even accessible by land. That's why we also include it directly under the Ilulissat guide.

The most popular mode of transport is tourist boats. Agencies organize day trips from June to September and you can book them via arcticexcursions.com/boat-shuttle-from-ilulissat-to-oqaatsut.

Boats sail twice a day and a return ticket costs 61 eur.

But there is also a hiking trail to Oqaatsut that starts at the Ilulissat airport and is marked with orange signs.

The footpath is 22 km long and is ideal to combine with the boat transfer (see route map), or to stay overnight here and walk back the next day.

In the summer season (mid-June to mid-September) the Nordlys Hotel *** operates directly in Oqaatsut.

During the winter, Oqaatsut is a popular destination for snowmobile or dog sledding trips.