When you aren’t out on one of our summer Tours or winter Tours, we encourage you to explore Uummannaq itself on the following self-guided excursions.
Even though it is a relatively small town, there is a lot to see and do on your own – most of which is available no matter which season you visit.
Uummannaq’s most famous resident is none other than Santa Claus himself!
Popularised by the 1989 Danish Christmas TV series Nissebanden i Grønland (Elves in Greenland), Santa’s traditional Greenlandic-style residence is an easy 2.5km walk from the centre of town in Spragle Bay.
Take a picnic and follow the red dots for the quickest and easiest route to Santa’s estate.
You can’t miss the enormous red post box just down from the beautiful stone church in the centre of Uummannaq. This is where Santa’s mail is delivered to.
Thousands of letters from children all over the world are collected from this postbox and taken into Santa’s Office in the old yellow “Doctor’s house” just behind it. You can write your own letter to Santa, or give him some much-needed help (especially if you speak other languages) by replying to some of the other letters in his never-ending pile of mail.
It is a fascinating look into the wishes of children all around the world, and you will help fuel the imagination and excitement of a small child somewhere on the planet.
The main building of the Uummannaq museum contains a small reading room and several exhibitions relevant to the area. Here you can learn about Alfred Wegener’s expedition on the Ice Sheet with a propeller-driven sled, and see replicas of the clothing of the Qilakitsoq mummies that were discovered just across the fjord from Uummannaq in 1972 (the mummies themselves are in the National Museum in Nuuk).
Have a chat with the curator for more local history, and ask for access to the other buildings of the museum if they aren’t open already. These include the “Doctor’s House”, which often hosts temporary art exhibitions and is where Santa’s office is located, the long “whale blubber house”, which is filled with an eclectic mix of items and artworks, and the peat huts that occupy the land in front of the church.
Entrance to the Museum: USD$10 – per person.
Uummannaq’s most iconic building is Greenland’s only stone church. Constructed in 1935, the granite blocks used to build the church were carved out of the hillside behind it by stonemasons.
The church is not always open and the easiest way to see inside is to attend a mass with locals. The mass is held in Greenlandic and is a fantastic opportunity to listen to this Inuit language. Is it also an opportunity to experience what modern religion feels like in a country that was converted to Christianity only a few hundred years ago.
If you don’t feel comfortable attending the mass, pop to the church just before or just afterwards for a peek inside. Whatever you do, please respect the privacy and faith of others who may be in the church when you visit with your camera.
