Nanortalik

Nanortalik sits on a rocky peninsula at the southern tip of Greenland, a town of about 1,700 people. Ships anchor offshore, and passengers tender to a waterfront lined with brightly painted wooden houses. Tasermiut Fjord, sometimes called the "Alps of Greenland," rises sharply from the water nearby, its sheer granite walls drawing climbers from around the world. Icebergs drift through the fjord mouth, and you can sometimes spot seals from the shore. The Nanortalik Open-Air Museum has a collection of colonial-era buildings and Inuit artifacts. At nearby Herjolfsnæs, the ruins of a Norse church mark one of the earliest Viking settlements in Greenland. Local shops sell seal-skin crafts, carved soapstone figures, and jewellery made from local materials. Payment is in Danish kroner, though credit cards work in most places. If you hear singing drifting from the church, it may be the local choir rehearsing, a tradition the town takes seriously.