3 hiking spots near Nuuk

Quassussuaq

Discover the best Nuuk hiking trails and immerse yourself in the stunning natural landscapes that surround Greenland’s capital. Whether you’re an avid hiker or simply looking to enjoy a leisurely walk with your family, our guide to the best hikes near Nuuk will help you find the perfect trail.

Quassussuaq is an ideal starting point for those new to hiking in Greenland. This easily accessible mountain route is great for beginners and offers a well-maintained path due to its dual use as a skiing area in the winter. The trail is fully covered by mobile phone and internet service, ensuring safety and connectivity. For those who prefer guided experiences, join the ‘Walk away cancer’ facebook group that hikes up Quassussuaq every Tuesday.

In the winter
As mentioned before, this specific route is used as our skiing area, which means that it can be packed by skiing and snowboarding nuummiuts!

So you can’t follow the ski lift as you can in the summer, so you have to walk between the skiing tracks, or on the right side of the lift.

But it is an amazing place to hike in the winter because the slopes have been prepared by machines, and you can still follow the normal route when the ski lift closes around 18:00.
It gets very dark in the winter so bring a headlamp, and a camera at the top is an amazing place to enjoy the northern lights over Nuuk.

Ukkusissaq

For a more challenging hike, Ukkusissaq offers steep climbs and breathtaking views, making it one of the most rewarding Nuuk outdoor activities. The most important thing to remember is to follow the marked orange-red dots along the trail to stay on course. This hike is recommended for more experienced adventurers, especially outside of the winter months when the trail markers may be obscured by snow.

Ukkusissaq has a lot of local culture behind it, it is one of the hardest routes you can take in the city area, and many people say that you are not a true nuummiut before you have seen the view from the peak yourself.

These dots indicate the route that you should follow, please do not deviate from the trail as we have had cases where people have gotten lost, and needed to be retrieved by a helicopter.
This means that we do not recommend hiking Ukkusissaq in the winter alone as a beginner, as you can not see the trail spots.
This route is almost twice as high as Quasussuaq, but it is definitely steeper that multiplies the effort that you put into the hike, but there are many good spots to have a little snack break.
Both Ukkusissaq and Quasussuaq are very popular hiking routes, and you can expect to see a few locals on the trail, so if you are unsure on how to walk the trails, you can always wait for someone to go by and ask for advice, or follow someone in front of you.

Paradise valley

Paradise Valley provides a tranquil escape just outside the city, perfect for family-friendly hikes in Nuuk. The trail leads to a peaceful valley ideal for a picnic, fishing, or even an overnight camping experience. It’s a fantastic spot for team-building activities or a relaxing day in nature with loved ones.

The paradise valley is an area outside of Nuuk that with the development of the city has come closer and closer to us, today it is only 1.5 kilometers away from the nearest road, but back in the day it was so far away from the city that people went out there to hunt on day trips!.
You can find the trail to Paradise valley behind the detention center, you can find the road close to the airport,

There are different ways that you can go about the trip depending on your mood and travel partners.
If you want the trip to be longer you can walk from the inner city and get some miles in, but if you want to get there fast you can be dropped off by the detention center and walk from there, giving you more hours to spend at your destination.

If you want to spend more time at the destination and shorten the walk, you can be dropped off by the detention center, the walk from here is only 30 minutes.

Have fun out there, but remember to always tell family or friends where you are going, and when you are expecting to be back, you never know if you are in a sudden need of help.