Discovering the Northeast Greenland National Park

Description

Set sail with PONANT on a brand-new itinerary, specifically designed for Le Commandant Charcot, the first hybrid electric polar exploration ship. This 13-day exploration cruise will offer you the unique opportunity to discover the north-east coast of Greenland, one of the most difficult regions to access in the Far North, in a particularly precocious and hostile season, spring, when the ice and snow are still ubiquitous.

Setting sail from Reykjavik, you will first reach the region of Ittoqqortoormiit, home to a small community of Greenlanders: this will be the occasion to find out about the life of the last hunters in the polar regions.

Then, you will head for the Northeast Greenland National Park, the largest national park in the world and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve: here, there is no trace of human life, just alpine magically coloured landscapes as far as the eye can see and powerful glaciers.

In the spring, the solid and powerful sea ice remains in charge of the visitors who venture out to it. It is the perfect time to observe the exceptional Arctic wildlife that it shelters. The polar bear is king here. You will perhaps admire, roaming this white desert, a solitary male in search of the ideal hunting or fishing spot, or a mother teaching her cub the secrets of survival.

You will attempt to reach the north of the national park, and Ile de France, discovered by the Duke of Orleans in 1905. This particularly remote region is protected by thick pack ice, brought directly from the North Pole by the transpolar current. You will then reach Reykjavik, where you will leave the ship.

Trip Name

Discovering the Northeast Greenland National Park

Days

Overview

Vessel Type: Polar Luxury Expedition Passenger Capacity: 135 cabins Built: 2018/2019 Be the first aboard Le Commandant-Charcot, the world's luxury polar exploration vessel, and enjoy a unique sailing experience in the Arctic or Antarctic! With its hybrid propulsion combining liquefied natural gas (LNG) and electric generators, Le Commandant-Charcot has been designed to minimise the environmental impact of travel to the furthest latitudes. The decoration of the ship, imagined by two internationally renowned design and architecture firms - the studio of Jean-Philippe Nuel and Wilmotte & Associés - is designed to be in harmony with the environment. The approach is contemporary with the desire to create a warm and elegant setting; stone, wood and leather recall the natural environment in which the ship is sailing. Equipped with just 135 staterooms including 31 suites with balconies and outside views, Le Commandant-Charcot welcomes you in an intimate and refined atmosphere. Outstanding gastronomy in the two restaurants, relaxation in the indoor pool surrounded by its winter garden, relaxation in the well-being area with sauna and Snow Room... Like on a private yacht, each of our guests is unique. PUBLIC AREAS Le Commandant-Charcot has many common areas that are designed and equipped to meet all of your needs while preserving the intimacy of each passenger. A 177 m² reception area includes: A reception/concierge desk, An expeditions desk, The ship’s administrative services, The sales office, manned by our Hospitality & Travel Manager officer, Our boutique which sells clothing, jewellery, beauty products, postcards and various accessories, The image & photo desk. The different lounges: A 302 m² main lounge including a 28 m² cigar lounge, a tea corner and a bar, with live music on selected evenings, A 400 m² panoramic bar and lounge, An open-air Bar. The recreation spaces Fitness & Beauty Corner: Fitness room: Elliptic, running machines, bicycles... Beauty Corner: Hairdresser, Massage rooms, Sauna, Snow Room, Nail Shop. Pool area: Indoor Pool and winter garden - Outdoor Pool Theatre: Capacity: 270-276 - Main show room for conferences and live entertainment on selected evenings - State-of-the-art audio and video technology. Leisure area: Public areas - Library - Medical centre. 16 Zodiac®.

Itinerary

Day 1 - Day 1 REYKJAVÍK

Iceland’s capital stretches along the edge of a vast bay in the west of the country. Perlan, the “Pearl of Reykjavík”, a museum located on ’Oskjuhlið hill, offers a panoramic view of the lush, green landscapes. A little further, one can easily spot the signpost showing the way to the evangelical Hallgrímskirkja church, and to the historical centre where one can stroll along the Skólavördustígur and the Laugavegur, two lively streets with charming small shops. For some relaxation just outside of the city, visitors have the opportunity to visit the Reykjanes peninsula and its famous thermal lagoons of the Blue Lagoon.

Day 2 - Days 2 - 3 AT SEA ABOARD LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research with PONANT and let us discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.

Day 3 - Days 4 - 5 ITTOQQORTOORMIIT REGION

Located between the largest national park and the longest system of fjords in the world, the town of Ittoqqortoormiit, whose name means “great house” in Greenlandic, is one of the remotest inhabited places in the world. Covered with ice and snow for nine months of the year, you will be able to discover the ancestral way of life of the last hunters of the polar region. As soon as the thickness of the ice floe allows, they set out on the trail of walruses, seals, narwhals, musk ox and polar bears, travelling by traditional dog sleds.

Day 4 - Day 6 DODMANSBUGTEN

In Gael Hamke Bay, you will sail towards Dodmansbugten, or “dead man’s bay”, in the south of Clavering Island. This is where the last Inuit settlement of Northeast Greenland was discovered around 1823. Here, you can still find typical trapper cabins like those described by the Danish explorer and writer Jørn Riel in his stories of the Arctic, humoristic accounts drawn from the dozens of years he spent exploring the fascinating lands of what is now the Northeast Greenland National Park. Further west, you will be able to discover the vestiges of the former Eskimonaes radio and weather station, captured by German troops during World War II to achieve control of the meteorological intelligence for the region.

Day 5 - Day 7 DANMARKSHAVN

Sailing through the fascinating landscapes of the Northeast Greenland National Park, you will make your way to Danmarkshavn on the southern coast of Germania Land. Built in 1948, to this day Danmarkshavn remains a station of prime importance for determining meteorological conditions in Europe and North America. Despite the difficulty in accessing this coast often covered by ice, the spot was chosen during the wintering of the Danmark in 1906 as the base for an important scientific expedition through the region by dog sled. The north of this bay that is only free of ice for a very short time each year in August can only be reached by ships built to sail through ice.

Day 6 - Day 8 EXPLORATION OF NORTHEAST GREENLAND NATIONAL PARK

With a craggy coastline formed by gigantic fjords, magnificent alpine mountains looming over them, the shores of north-east Greenland offer breathtaking landscapes and are home to the largest national park in the world. Covering an area of around one million square kilometres, almost half the island, the North-East Greenland National Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, is a particularly isolated region. Cut off for many months of the year by the ice floe, it is renowned for its pristine nature and rich wildlife.

Day 7 - Day 9 ÎLE-DE-FRANCE

In the Northeast Greenland National Park, we are humbled by the changing and extreme ice conditions in this site where we are privileged guests. We will try to go as far north as possible to land on the coast of the famous Ile-de-France, a mythical site of French polar expeditions discovered on 28 July 1905 during a polar exploration campaign led by Philippe of Orléans, Duke of Orléans (1869-1926). A little-known polar explorer, in 1905, 1907 and 1909 Duke Philippe of Orléans organised three Arctic expeditions aboard La Belgica, led by Captain Adrien de Gerlache de Gomery and his crew, thus entering the closed circle of the heroes of the Far North. During the 1905 expedition that led him to Spitsbergen in Greenland, he was accompanied by his friend the doctor Joseph Récamier and by the nature artist Edouard Mérite.

Day 8 - Day 10 MYGGBUKTA

To the south of the Northeast Greenland National Park, near the Hold with Hope Peninsula, in the King Christian X Land region, you will visit Myggbukta, a former Norwegian whaling, meteorological and radio station established in 1922 by Johan A. Olsen. It was he who gave this site its name meaning “mosquito bay” in Norwegian. This large bay situated at more than 73° latitude north is covered in superb arctic tundra extending as far as the eye can see. This rich vegetation cover allows a large population of musk oxen to thrive. If you are lucky, you may get to spot a few.

Day 9 - Days 11 - 12 AT SEA ABOARD LE COMMANDANT CHARCOT

Day 10 - Day 13 REYKJAVÍK

Day 11 - Please Note:

We are privileged guests in these extreme lands where we are at the mercy of weather and ice conditions. Our navigation, mainly in the fjords, will be determined by the type of ice we come across; as the coastal ice cannot be broken, we will take this factor into account from day to day in our itineraries. The sailing programme, outings, activities and observation of fauna cannot be guaranteed and are subject to weather and ice conditions. The experiences are unique and vary from day to day and for each departure. The Captain and the Expedition Leader will make every effort to ensure that your experience is as rich as possible, while respecting safety instructions and regulations imposed by the AECO.

Trip Dates

Start	End	Price From	Room Type

Inclusions

Discover the largest national park in the world, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the magical moment when nature wakes up.
Outings and shore visits in a Zodiac® dinghy or hovercraft with an reinforced team of naturalist-guides.
Hiking opportunity.
An encounter with the Inuit people to share their springtime traditions while the ice is still ubiquitous.
Visit the old Norwegian trapper cabins that added a special flavour and richness to Jørn Riel’s series of Arctic tales about the people of Greenland.
Landscapes: mountains striped with multi-coloured strata, fjords, jagged mountains, glaciers, icebergs, ice floes, hummocks, wild tundra, sheer cliffs, polar ice cap.
Wildlife: polar bears, narwhals, seals, musk oxen, Arctic foxes and hares, orcas, sea birds.
Our experts are fine-tuning your programme of activities, find out more very soon.