The river leading from the Glacier and the Glacier itself in background as seen from the viewpoint of the Ridge Hike near Narsarsuaq, South Greenland

Hiking Greenland – Narsarsuaq Ridge

My transfer from Qassiarsuk to Narsarsuaq didn’t leave until 2pm, which meant that I didn’t really have time to do much of a hike at either place, despite the glorious weather!   Fortunately, the Ridge Hike (yellow in the map below) from Narsarsuaq is a relatively short route up to a view of the Narsarsuaq Glacier (Kiattuut Sermiat), so I decided I would head out and do that one when I arrived.

Map on the wall in the hostel showing the different hiking routes near Narsarsuaq, South Greenland
Every hostel I stayed at in South Greenland had these hiking maps on the wall, and short descriptions to go with them. Brilliant idea!

Unlike some of the routes I’ve done in previous days, it is a very easy trail to follow (no red dots, no need to follow contours while you hike), and the walking is not strenuous.  There was also tons of relatively tall vegetation lining the way – something very different to what I’ve become accustomed to over the past week or so.

Section of the trail that guides the Ridge Hike near Narsarsuaq in South Greenland
The Ridge Hike has a very easy-to-follow trail. No need to look for red dots or follow contours.

The added bonus – many of the wildflowers were out (Greenland has a lot them in the right season), so I took my time stopping and photographing them along the way.  “To stop and smell the roses, no matter what” is a philosophy I adopted about 2 years ago, and although these weren’t roses and didn’t have a smell, they were very pretty 😊  

Montage of colourful Greenlandic wildflowers taken along the Ridge Hike near Narsarsuaq, South Greenland
Not what you expect from Greenland huh?

At the end of the Ridge Hike, a viewpoint overlooks the river leading from the glacier, with a distant view of the glacier itself.  Unfortunately the glacier face is hidden behind rocky outcrops but perhaps I’ll see that tomorrow when I do the Narsarsuaq Glacier Hike.

The river leading from the Glacier and the Glacier itself in background as seen from the viewpoint of the Ridge Hike near Narsarsuaq, South Greenland
The face of the Narsarsuaq Glacier is obscured from the viewpoint, but it is an impressive vista none-the-less

Still, it is a nice view of the sheet of ice with some spectacular-looking mountains in the background.

The glacier and mountains from the viewpoint of the Ridge Hike near Narsarsuaq, South Greenland

So some nice, gentle hiking today – ready for the full hike to the Narsarsuaq Glacier tomorrow 😊

 

Distance: ~7km

Time: ~2.5 hours

Notes:  This is probably the easiest hike I did in Greenland.  If you are there in summer, make sure you stop and admire the Greenlandic wildflowers that are only out for a short period of time each year 😊

Discover more about Greenland

If this post has piqued your curiosity about Greenland, learn more about this amazing country at Visit Greenland, and check out the wide range of tours of all kinds (not just hiking and trekking) at Guide to Greenland.

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