POPBEE Did you know: In Greenland, driving will never get you to the next city
Glaciers, fjords, and distant settlements break up the roads, so residents can only travel by sea or air.
Key takeaways
- Greenland is the world’s largest island, yet no roads connect its towns.
- Residents rely on planes, helicopters, and ferries for daily travel, and even use dog sleds in winter.
- The extreme terrain makes roads impossible to build, so the entire transportation network relies on the sea and air.
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We tend to assume there should be roads wherever we go, but that simply isn’t the case in Greenland. The world’s largest island covers more than 2.16 million square kilometers, about 60 times the size of Taiwan, yet there isn’t a single road connecting its towns. It’s not that they haven’t been built yet; they’re impossible to build in the first place.
Ice sheets and fjords make roads impossible to build
IMAGE FROM/GETTY IMAGES
More than 80% of Greenland is covered by a permanent ice sheet, while the remaining land is broken up by fjords, glaciers, and rugged mountain ranges. Towns are scattered along the coast, separated by natural barriers that cannot be crossed. Apart from short roads connecting a few settlements and sheep farms in southern Greenland, there are no intercity roads anywhere else. Roads in each town are only for getting around locally; drive to the end, and you’ll reach the wilderness.
Getting around means flying, while small villages rely on helicopters
IMAGES FROM/GETTY IMAGES
Air Greenland is residents’ main form of transportation, using Dash 8 aircraft to connect major towns. Each plane carries up to 37 passengers. Small settlements without airstrips rely on helicopters, especially in remote parts of East and North Greenland. Ferries also run between coastal towns: the Sarfaq Ittuk travels between southern and northern Greenland from April through December each year, while Disko Line serves the west coast.
Dog sleds aren’t just for tourists; they’re a real mode of transportation
IMAGES FROM GETTY IMAGES
In northern Greenland, dog sledding remains an important way to get around in winter. It’s not a performance for tourists, but a real form of transportation residents use in the freezing snow and ice. If you enjoy outdoor activities, Greenland also has the 165 km Arctic Circle Trail, which runs from Kangerlussuaq to Sisimiut. There are no resupply stations along the route, so you’ll need to carry your own tent for the entire trek.
Having no roads may sound inconvenient, but Greenlanders have long been used to a way of life connected by the sea and sky. Next time you see that huge white island on a map, think about it: people there don’t take the highway when they head out; they catch a flight or hop on a boat.
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