The Arctic Circle Trail is a hiking trail in

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

. The route covers from the interior settlement of

Kangerlussuaq Kangerlussuaq (; ; da, Søndre Strømfjord), is a settlement in western Greenland in the Qeqqata municipality located at the head of the fjord of the same name. It is Greenland's main air transport hub and the site of Greenland's largest commer ...

Sisimiut Sisimiut (), formerly known as Holsteinsborg, is the capital and largest city of the Qeqqata municipality, the second-largest city in Greenland, and the largest Arctic city in North America.The term 'city' is loosely used to describe any popula ...

on the coast.

Geography and terrain

The entirety of the trail is north of the

arctic circle The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle. The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...

, hence the name. While 80% of Greenland is covered in ice sheets, the trail travels from the edge of the ice cap to the western coast of the island. The trail covers parts of traditional hunting grounds now recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Aasivissuit – Nipisat: Inuit Hunting Ground between Ice and Sea, though it was officially established in 1998. Approximately the first of the trail is along a

gravel road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unit ...

, with the rest of it on single track hiking trail that is sparsely marked by cairns. The trail does not have any significant

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since many of the world's mountain ranges have presented formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human a ...

es to cross, reaching a maximum altitude of . It passes by numerous lakes, river crossings, and boggy terrain. During summer the route is largely snow free, but during spring, fall, and winter it requires skis,

snowmobile A snowmobile, also known as a Ski-Doo, snowmachine, sled, motor sled, motor sledge, skimobile, or snow scooter, is a motorized vehicle designed for winter travel and recreation on snow. It is designed to be operated on snow and ice and does not ...

s, or dog sleds to travel.

Hiking

The most well-known trail in Greenland, it sees relatively few hikers in a season, typically no more than 1,500. The trail requires no permits and is free to use. Most hikers complete the route in 7–10 days, though the

fastest known time A fastest known time (FKT) is the speed record for a running or hiking route. Unlike most endurance sports competitions such as marathon world records, FKTs are self-organized and done alone or in small groups. FKTs are most popular on long trails ...

is just under two days. There are no towns or settlements along the route for resupply, so hikers must be completely self-supported in terms of food and gear. There are, however, 10 primitive huts that provide shelter along the trail. In recent years, fires on the tundra have forced some hikers to evacuate from the route. Otherwise, the most common challenges faced are the extreme remoteness of the trail, river crossings, and a heavy

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

population during the early summer.

References

External links

*
Trail guide

Official website
Geography of Greenland Hiking trails in North America {{Greenland-stub