Greenland
Greenland is not a mass tourism location, but rather somewhere for the discerning traveller who is searching for unique experiences in a magnificent, clean natural environment and an exciting culture.
Greenland is the world's largest island, located where the North Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans meet. Greenland is 85% covered with ice and glaciers, which can be up up to 3 kilometers (2 miles) thick.
Despite covering an area of nearly 2 million square kilometers (772,204 square miles) only about 56,000 people live there. The fishing and hunting of seals, birds, wild reindeer and musk oxen are still the main sources of income.
Your hosts, Piitaq and Naasu, who are third generation sheep farmers with over 500 sheep, will welcome you to southern Greenland. On this trail ride they would like to show you the most beautiful parts of southern Greenland, with its sheep farms, high mountains and deep valleys, waterfalls, glaciers and beautiful fjords dotted with icebergs.
Enjoy this majestic landscape from horseback.
Accommodation and Food
Accommodation on Greenland Trail Ride is in basic guesthouse/hostel. There are 7 single rooms and 3 shared rooms with one bunkbed, in total there are 5 bathrooms with toilets. Dining room / living room / kitchen. There is a basement with a washing machine as well, this is also available for the guests. There is also Wifi in the hostel but not in the farm.
On Greenland Trail Ride - From farm to farm the accommodation are in shared rooms with bunk beds.
Accommodation on Greeland Trail Ride - Glacier tour are the same as on Greeland Trail Ride, but with one night in tent by the glacier. Bring own sleepingbag.
Safe deposit box: No
A/C: No
Hair Dryer: No
Towels and sheets: Yes on Greenland Trail Ride. No on the Farm to Farm Trail Ride (bring own sleeping bag and towel)
Fridge: One to share.
You prepare your own breakfast and lunch box. Dinners are typical Greenland fare with a lot of lamb or fish, some meat from greenlandic cow and muskox. For lunch you will prepare you own packed lunch that can fit in the saddlebag of sandwiches, fish salad and different types of cold cuts of meat, and a water bottle (bring your own water bottle).
Different sorts of greenlandic beer, danish beer and soda will be for sale at the hostel.
There is no special catering for vegetarians, vegans or gluten free food, as there are not the supplies available in Greenland.
We advise to bring slippers that you can wear in the hostel.
Horses
Island Horses are perfect for this landscape and climate. You will ride the same horse all week.
Weight limit: 100 kg
The Program Greenland Trail Ride
Preliminary program of 7 nights accommodation and 5 days of riding.
Day 1: Upon arrival to Qaqortoq Airport you can take your luggage and go outside the airport and find the bus with a sign that says: ‘Hotel Qaqortoq / Diskoline shuttle’. When getting on the bus you let the driver know what your name is and he will drive you to the harbor, where a boat will take you to Qassiarsuk. The boat transfer takes about 2 hours, with a possible stop-over at Narsaq City in the middle of the sailing. Upon arrival to Qassiarsuk harbor one of the guides from Riding Greenland will greet you and drive your luggage to the hostel. You can choose to either walk (10 min. walk) or you can drive with the buggy to the hostel. At the hostel the guide will show you to your room and inform you when dinner will be served.
Day 2: Breakfast in the dining-room and when finished everyone will go outside and meet the horses. After an introduction of the horses the guides will match guest and horse. The ride will be short and in a slow pace, this time is mainly to insure that everybody is comfortable with their horse. The entire intro-day will take about 3 hours. Lunch will be served in the dining-room and the rest of the day the guests are free. Dinner will be served between 18:00 and 19:00.
Day 3: Breakfast in the dining-room and then everyone makes a lunchpack for the ride. When everybody is finished we all go to the horses and ride about 17km. During the day we will stop for lunch in the mountains. We will ride trough a farm called Qorlortup Itinnera and there after we will arrive to a another farm called Tasiusaq. We will leave the horses in the mountains and drive back to the hostel with buggies. Dinner will be served between 18:00 and 19:00.
Day 4: Same breakfast-procedure and everybody makes lunchpack, and then we go to the horses with the buggies. We will ride on a beach and have lunch overviewing the glacier. We will ride back to the farm Tasiusaq and the entire ride of the day will be about 22km. We will leave the horses in the mountain and drive back to the hostel with buggies. Dinner will be served between 18:00 and 19:00.
Day 5: Breakfast in the morning and we drive the buggies back to the horses. We ride from farm Tasiusaq to the farm Inneruulalik, the ride is about 18km. Lunch will be served at Inneruulalik before going back to the hostel in Qassiarsuk with the buggies. Dinner will be served between 18:00 and 19:00.
Day 6: Breakfast in the morning and when everybody is ready we take a buggy tour to the mountains and drive back again, the entire tour will take about 3 hours. After the buggy tour we will have lunch in the hostel and after lunch we go out to norse-ruins for a guided-tour about the vikings. Afterwards you can visit the café and/or the museum if you want to. Dinner will be served between 18:00 and 19:00.
Day 7: Breakfast in the morning and everybody makes a lunchpack, and then we to the horses with the buggies in Inneruulalik farm. Then we ride towards the farm Sillisit and back to the farm Inneruulalik. The entire ride is about 14km or more, depending on how the horses and guests feel. We leave the horses in Inneruulalik and return to the hostel with the buggies. Dinner will be served between 18:00 and 19:00.
Day 8: Breakfast in the morning and guests will walk to the harbour. The lugage will be driven by a team member to the harbour. The boat will sail at 09:40 from Qassiarsuk and arrive to Qaqortoq at 11:45. The bus will drive all the guests to the airport upon arrival, if the flight departs 1hour and 45minutes before. If the flight is later, the bus will drive from Hotel Qaqortoq 2 hours before the flight departs. That allows guests to have some time to see the city before
departure-time. Hotel Qaqortoq can keep your luggage before the bus departs (The hotel is not far from the harbor)
Program Greenland Trail Ride - From farm to farm
Preliminary day-by-day program
Day 1: Upon arrival to Qaqortoq Airport you can take your luggage and go outside the airport and find the bus with a sign that says: ‘Hotel Qaqortoq / Diskoline shuttle’. When getting on the bus you let the driver know what your name is and he will drive you to the harbor, where a boat will take you to Qassiarsuk. The boat transfer takes about 2 hours, with a possible stop-over at Narsaq City in the middle of the sailing. Upon arrival to Qassiarsuk the farm owner will greet you. You will be shown the direction to Illunnguujuk hostel that is close by (15min. walk) and your luggage will be driven to the hostel. Upon your arrival to Illunnguujuk hostel, the farm owner will show you to your room and you will be informed when dinner will be served.
Day 2. To farm Tasiusaq
Breakfast in the morning and everybody makes a lunch pack to bring for the ride. When everyone is ready, we all drive with the buggy to the farm Inneruulalik to meet the horses. After an introduction of the horses the guides will match you with a horse. The ride will be from farm Inneruulalik to farm Tasiusaq where we will stay 2 nights at the farm Sermilik hostel. The entire ride is about 14km. Dinner will be served between 6 and 7pm at the farm owner’s house.
Day 3. By farm Tasiusaq
Breakfast in the morning and everybody makes a lunch pack to bring for the ride. When everyone is ready, we ride to a beach with icebergs that we enjoy for a moment, and then we ride to reach a point with a view of the glacier to have lunch. Afterwards we ride back to the hostel in Tasiusaq. The entire ride will be about 22km. Dinner will be served between 6 and 7pm at the farm owner’s house.
Day 4. To farm Sillisit
Breakfast in the morning and everybody makes a lunch pack to bring for the ride. When everyone is ready, we ride to farm Sillisit where we will stay at the farms hostel. The entire ride is about 20km. Dinner will be served between 6 and 7pm at the farm owner’s house.
Day 5. By farm Sillisit
Breakfast in the morning and everybody makes a lunch pack to bring for the ride. When everyone is ready, we ride nearby Sillisit. The entire ride will be around 15km. Dinner will be served between 6 and 7pm at the farm owner’s house.
Day 6. To farm Inneruulalik
Breakfast in the morning and everybody makes a lunch pack to bring for the ride. When everyone is ready, we ride back to the farm Inneruulalik and drive the buggy back to the same hostel we stayed at the first night, farm Illunnguujuk. The entire ride will be about 7km. Dinner will be served between 6 and 7pm at the farm owner’s house.
Day 7. Buggy tour
Breakfast in the morning and when everyone is finished and ready to go, we all drive the buggies on a 3-4 hour tour. We will make a stop to have lunch in the mountains on the buggy tour. When we are back from the buggy tour, we will then go for a guided tour by the Norse ruins. The rest of the day you are free to do what you want to. Dinner will be served between 6 and 7pm , by the farm owners.
Day 8: Breakfast in the morning and guests will walk to the harbour. The lugage will be driven by a team member to the harbour. The boat will sail at 09:40 from Qassiarsuk and arrive to Qaqortoq at 11:45. The bus will drive all the guests to the airport upon arrival, if the flight departs 1hour and 45minutes before. If the flight is later, the bus will drive from Hotel Qaqortoq 2 hours before the flight departs. That allows guests to have some time to see the city before departure-time. Hotel Qaqortoq can keep your luggage before the bus departs (The hotel is not far from the harbor)
Climate
Travel Information
Ability description: Trail Ride Level 3 >>
Included in the price: 7 nights accommodation, 5 days riding, full board including water, coffee / tea making facilities, shuttle service.
Not included: Flights. Beer and soda can be purchased on site.
Travel: Fly to Qaqortoq. Air Greenland and Iceland air fly from Copenhagen.
Transfer: Book in advance with HorseXplore.
One group transfers from/to the airport are included. Transfer times in the afternoon when the last flight has arrived and going back to Qaqortoq we will sail them early in the morning since some has an early flight. The transport from the airport to the hostel will be done by a company called Blue Ice Explorer. All guests have to report their arrival to the Blue Ice counter in the Airport. They will take you to the harbour for a 2 hour boatride to Qassiarsuk.
Riding: Moderate pace so you can enjoy the beautiful surroundings. Walk, tolt and some occasional short canters, 4-6 hours / day in varying terrain.
Group size: Minimum 3 and maximum 6 -7 riders.
Currency: Danish krone. T
Single room: Yes at the hostel.
Currency: Danish crones
Credit card: Yes
Tipping: Not required but appreciated.
Wifi: Yes at the hostel
Electricity jack: EU standard
Group size: 3-8 riders
Age limit: Min. 12 years.
Weight limit: 100 kg
Beach: Yes around the riding center.
Pool: No
Misc.:
Riding equipment to borrow: Helmet
Saddle bag available: Yes
Special diet: No Special diet is possible.
Feedback from our travellers
Varied riding and stunning nature in Greenland
"The accommodation met my expectations, and we were served traditional home-cooked meals. The riding was very varied, with both easy and extremely difficult climbs up and down, which were demanding for both horse and rider. There were calm, long walks as well as longer tölt stretches on the flatter areas. Teddi was a perfect match for me—forward-going and stable on the climbs. After reading others' experiences of riding trips in Greenland, the trip largely met my expectations, except for the fact that there was more tölt than I anticipated. Only a positive thing. All in all, a fantastic and educational trip."
Ulla Paavola
A fantastic riding experience in Greenland
"The food was fantastic. The terrain for riding was more challenging than I had expected, but the views were incredible. The horses were Icelandic horses from the farms—steady, calm, and reliable. My best riding holiday so far!"
Eeva Lapila
Relaxing and authentic Greenland experience
"The hostel was clean, and the availability of a washing machine was an extra plus. We had at least three meals with local dishes, and plenty of food. The horses were well taken care of and matched to different riders' levels. A lot of emphasis was placed on their well-being. The three guides were friendly and helpful. One of them woke us up to see the Northern Lights and answered many questions about local customs. Exactly what we wanted—far away from crowds, to experience Greenland's landscapes and way of life."
Linda Chaney
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