Ilimanaq, Greenland: Village tour and trip to the icebergs (with the AIDAaura to Greenland and Iceland 8)

In the afternoon we entered the Disco Bay.

The ship took a small detour to the mouth of the Ilulissat Icefjord so that we could already take a closer look at the icebergs there.

Then we anchored in front of Ilimanaq. With its 50 inhabitants, the place is one of the smallest in the Disco Bay and one of the oldest in Greenland.

We took one of the first tender boats ashore and took a walk through the village.

The small colorful houses were scattered along a main path with some side paths.

There were no real roads or cars to be seen.

A quad bike perfectly fitted on the developed main path and was apparently used for supplies.

In this village many huskies lived directly by the houses and observed the unusually large number of people who were now walking through Ilimanaq.

We explored all the paths of the village and walked to the lake, passing some sled dogs, until the path ended in mud.

A short walk up a hill led to the cemetery of the village.

From there you could get down to the water and walk back to the center of the village along the water and past some huskies.

On the other side of the path is the church of Ilimanaq, which was built in 1908. It offers space for all residents of the village.

Next to it is the Ilimanaq Lodge, a modern hotel that opened in 2017.

The two-person cabins offer a beautiful view of the bay and icebergs.

Since you are only allowed to enter the hotel grounds as a guest, we climbed a small hill next to it to catch a glimpse of the bay.

But we did briefly enter the hotel grounds because I had lost my sunglasses after the photo stop, which was found by an employee there. In order to pick it up, we entered the jetty reserved for guests.

After these first impressions of the village, we returned to the ship.

In the evening we had booked a tour to the icebergs in the midnight sun.

It was supposed to start at 21:35, but the departure was delayed by about half an hour, so we sat warmly wrapped up in the bar waiting for the boat.

Fortunately, we did not go on one of the open boats, but were allowed to board one with a passenger cabin, which was pleasantly warm.

The captain was a German from Mannheim who skillfully maneuvered the ship to the icebergs and around them.