A motorcycle is an awkward guest in southern Greenland, and Igaliku is the reason to think about it carefully. There is no road network linking the settlements here; you reach them by boat, helicopter, or on foot, and the tracks between the farms are short and local. Nevertheless this is one of the great historical landscapes of the Arctic, and it deserves a place in any ride that dreams about the edge of the map.
Around the year 1000 Norse settlers led by Erik the Red arrived in the fjords of southern Greenland, and they stayed for about four centuries. Igaliku, then called Garðar, became the seat of the bishop of Greenland in the twelfth century, with a stone cathedral and a large farm, and the remains of the cathedral and great barns can still be seen beside the modern village. Nobody knows precisely why the Norse colony disappeared, whether climate, trade, conflict or a mixture, and the silence of the ruins only makes the question louder. UNESCO lists the area under the name Kujataa, recognising both the Norse farms and the Inuit hunting culture that later took over.
The village today is small and quiet, with a handful of houses, a guesthouse, a tiny church and sheep grazing on the green slopes. Farming is possible here because of the sheltered fjord climate, and you can see hayfields, vegetable plots and even potatoes growing in the thin soil. The scenery is unlike anywhere else: grass-covered hills rolling down to the water, icebergs drifting in the fjord, and mountains with snow on their tops even in summer. The light is long and clear in June and July, and the air is cold, clean and still.
Narsaq, nearly forty kilometres away, is the nearest town and has the shops and fuel for the district, but do not expect to ride the distance on a road. Plan your travel with local boat operators or helicopter services, check conditions, and bring warm, waterproof clothing even in July. The best time is June to August, when the sea is open and the days are long. If you reach Igaliku, walk slowly, respect the ruins and the grazing animals, and leave only footprints.