Nuuk → Ilulissat

Arrival in Nuuk by private jet and embarkation. Greenland's capital holds 20,000 people, big-city lifestyle set against backcountry and a large fjord system. The Greenland National Museum shows mummies and Inuit skin boats, the Nuuk Art Museum holds local works, and the Katuaq cultural centre offers films, concerts and art.

In the late afternoon, a meeting with Aleqa Hammond, one of Greenland's most influential modern leaders. In 2013 she became the first female Prime Minister of Greenland, and she has also served as chairman of the party Siumut and as a member of the Danish Parliament representing Greenland.

A full day in the fjord system behind the capital: waterfalls, humpback whales and icebergs, with hikes ashore, kayaking and Zodiac cruising beneath the backdrop of Sermitsiaq mountain.

Sailing into ice-strewn waters where conditions set a flexible pace, the yacht arrives in Eternity Fjord, a beautiful area with towering mountains and hanging glaciers surrounding the water. Cruise the fjord for the scenery, explore the coast by tender or kayak, or go ashore for a hike in the tundra. Rare fjords, glacier fronts and exploratory landings.

Sisimiut, "inhabitants by the fox burrows," is the second largest town in Greenland, its port home to a large fleet of trawlers. A stroll through the charming community reaches an excellent museum, craft workshops and colourful houses dotting the mountainside. Nearby lies Nipisat, a UNESCO-listed archaeological site with a rare glimpse into over 4,000 years of human history.

Spectacular views of large icebergs greet the arrival at Disko Island, the largest and youngest in Greenland at only 50 million years old, with glacier-covered basaltic plateaus sliced by alpine troughs and glacial valleys. At Qeqertarsuaq, traces of a pre-Inuit settlement five to six thousand years old have been found; whalers founded the town in 1773, and hunting and fishing remain the primary occupations.

Eqip Sermia stands as a powerful symbol of nature's force, one of the few places to watch a glacier actively calving: massive pieces of ice breaking off and crashing into the sea, the sound echoing like thunder across the Arctic silence. As the climate warms, glaciers like this are changing faster than ever before.

Oqaatsut, also known as Rodebay, is a small and peaceful settlement about 20 kilometres north of Ilulissat, home to only a few dozen people: colourful wooden houses, a small church and a local restaurant, with fishing and hunting still central to the community. Towering icebergs drift through the nearby waters, broken off from the Ilulissat Icefjord. A village visit and a hike, then cruising toward Ilulissat.

Ilulissat means "The Icebergs," set beside the fjord fed by Sermeq Kujalleq, the most productive glacier in the northern hemisphere. Its procession of icebergs moves down the 30 mile fjord into Disko Bay at about 20 million tons per day, and the icefjord is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A trail through tundra wildflowers reaches the old settlement of Sermermiut, with a stunning view over the icebergs; sightseeing flights over the icecap and scenic cruising among the bergs are options.

On the morning of 24 August, a helicopter transfer from Ilulissat to Kangerlussuaq, where the private jet departs. If time allows before the transfer, a final visit to the UNESCO site and the Sermermiut viewpoint.