The wild beauty of the island Mr. Trump wants to buy for the US

According to CNN on January 12, Greenland, an autonomous island of Denmark, has a population of 56,000 people, mainly Inuit, located between New York and Moscow.

Denmark has rejected Mr Trump's idea, insisting the island is not for sale, while Greenland officials have sought to assert the territory's independence.

On January 7, Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., made a brief visit to Greenland. CNN commented that if Trump Jr. had stayed longer than just to take photos, he might have discovered a pristine wilderness rich in indigenous culture.

A layer of ice several kilometres thick covers 80% of Greenland, forcing the Inuit to live along the coasts, where they spend the cold winters, hunting seals on the ice under the northern lights in near-year-round darkness.

The problem for visitors over the years has been that getting to Greenland via indirect flights takes a long time. That is changing. In late 2024, the capital Nuuk opened an international airport. From June 2025, United Airlines will operate twice-weekly direct flights from Newark to Nuuk.

Two more international airports are expected to open by 2026, at Qaqortoq in South Greenland and Ilulissat – the island's only tourist hotspot.

View of Disko Bay in Ilulissat, Greenland

Located on the west coast, Ilulissat is a halibut and shrimp fishing port set on a rocky bay where visitors can sit in bars sipping craft beer chilled by 100,000-year-old icebergs.

This is where visitors can admire the Ilulissat Icefjord, a UNESCO World Heritage site where skyscraper-sized icebergs break off from the Greenland ice sheet and float like ships in the surrounding Disko Bay.

“I was out on a boat and saw an iceberg split in two. Pieces of ice fell into the sea and created a huge wave,” said David Karlsen, captain of the Katak tour boat.

Aside from icebergs, the other giants of Disko Bay include whales. From June to September, humpbacks leap from the water, while fin and minke whales hunt plankton. Whale-watching season is excellent along the Greenland coast.

Visitors can enjoy the traditional Greenlandic dish of mattak, which is whale skin and blubber. Inuit communities have hunting quotas for not only narwhal but also polar bears, musk oxen and reindeer.

Ilulissat is also a hub for coastal cruise tourism. The 2024 season saw a strong increase in visitors, with 141,000 visitors, mostly cruise tourists. The West Coast is particularly popular for these trips, often originating from North America or Iceland.

From Ilulissat, cruise ships travel south along the coast, visiting small communities with houses painted green, blue, yellow and purple, and then see Disko Island, where flat-topped mountains are covered in ice and snow.

They can also explore the extraordinary waters of Eternity Bay near Maniitsoq and the ancient remains of pre-Inuit culture in South Greenland, along with 10th-century Viking longhouse ruins.

Greenland is a good place to enjoy the beauty of the aurora from mid-August to late April.

A more natural way to explore the coast is by taking the Sarfaq Ittuk ferry, operated by Arctic Umiaq Line. It’s less commercial than modern cruise ships and offers the chance to meet fellow Inuit. Greenland is expensive; a little lettuce at a community store can cost $10.

A popular trip to Greenland is to the east coast, facing Europe. This is a wilder and less visited region, with dramatic coastlines in the fjords where icebergs drift south. There are no roads and the population is sparse, with just over 3,500 people living along the coast.

Smaller vessels are increasingly exploring this remote region, home to icy landscapes and wildlife. An increasingly popular destination is the Scoresby Sound system, the world’s largest fjord system, with its jagged mountains and glacial valleys. To the north is the Greenland Northeast National Park, a great place to spot wildlife in the grasslands.

Perhaps the most interesting cultural visit in Greenland is to the village of Ittoqqortoormiit, where learning to read the village name takes more time than sightseeing.

Located 804km from the nearest human community, the village of 345 people lives in isolation for nine months of the year. Ships only visit during the short summer season from June to August. Separated by the ice, they still maintain traditional habits.

To get around in the winter, the Inuit here now prefer snowmobiles, although they still keep sled dogs. In the winter, they will organize dog sled trips for brave travelers. Visitors must wear plenty of warm clothes to cope with the extremely cold temperatures.

These trips can last an hour or be part of several-day expeditions, sometimes even teaching visitors how to build igloos.

The biggest draw of winter, however, is seeing the Northern Lights. With no urban light pollution, Greenland is the perfect dark backdrop for viewing the amazing light displays, and aurora viewing holidays are becoming increasingly popular.

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/ve-dep-hoang-da-cua-hon-dao-ong-trump-muon-mua-cho-my-402984.html