From mid June to the end of August local tour operators offer Iceberg cruises departing from Tasiilaq Harbour. Duration: from 4 hours to a whole day. All the boats have heated cabins and offer hot refreshments.
Sailing among icebergs is truly an experience of a lifetime. One can never stop gazing at the amazing shapes, some so powerful, others so graceful; ever changing as the angle alters as you sail by. The colours are enchanting - hues of blue and green glistening in the sun, or the pure white looming mysteriously against a grey morning fog. A dark round shadow bobbing in the waves is a seal watching you visit its waters. If you are lucky you may sight whales such as minkes, humpbacks and fins.
About Icebergs Glacial ice forms out of compacted snow, so icebergs are made entirely of fresh water. As snow is squeezed under its own weight on the upper reaches of the glaciers, it begins to flow downhill to the sea. Tongues of ice flow out onto the surface of the water.
Gradually, wind and waves weaken the tongue of the glacier until it gives way. Great blocks of glacier break off in a process called "calving," and begin to drift southward in the current.
Typically, one-fifth to one-seventh of an iceberg protrudes above the water. The submerged core is made of rock-hard, freshwater ice. The average age of that ice is thought to be about 15,000 years. But some may date back to the last ice age. In their glory, icebergs can tower hundreds of feet above the water.
In the summer, the iceberg armadas begin to crumble. Weakened by the sun, they sometimes collapse in a great, splashing mess, leaving a litter of "bergy bits" and "growlers."
