Inuit spring of Ammassalik 11 Day | Le Commandant Charcot

Iceland’s capital stretches along the edge of a vast bay in the west of the country. Perlan, the “Pearl of Reykjavík”, a museum located on ’Oskjuhlið hill, offers a panoramic view of the lush, green landscapes. A little further, one can easily spot the signpost showing the way to the evangelical Hallgrímskirkja church, and to the historical centre where one can stroll along the Skólavördustígur and the Laugavegur, two lively streets with charming small shops. For some relaxation just outside of the city, visitors have the opportunity to visit the Reykjanes peninsula and its famous thermal lagoons of the Blue Lagoon.

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research while discovering together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.

Still relatively unknown just a century ago, the east coast of Greenland remains the most authentic and majestic region in the Arctic. Explore this part of the world where the alpine mountains merge intimately with the sea and the fjords are adorned with high, snow-capped peaks and icebergs drifting or trapped in the pack ice. You will slowly immerse yourself in the heart of frozen landscapes of surreal beauty. The infinite variety of textures in the different types of ice creates an ever-changing scenery. Follow in the wake of the famous Pourquoi Pas?, the ship of Captain Jean-Baptiste Charcot who set off with his crew in 1934 to land Paul-Émile Victor in Ammassalik. In this fjord of raw and untamed beauty, the explorer devoted his first ethnographic mission to the Ammassalimiut, a little-known Inuit community. In this deceptively frozen landscape, the silence is broken only by the sounds of dogs and the grating of sled runners against the ice. You will receive a warm welcome in villages still protected by the fast ice. You will have the opportunity to discover the Inuit culture’s ancestral traditions during joyous and authentic moments shared with the communities.

Aboard your ship, follow in the footsteps of Jules Poret de Blosseville, a French explorer and sailor. In 1833, aboard La Lilloise, he set off to discover this isolated and unexplored part of eastern Greenland and gave French names to various sites on the coast. The adventure probably has an unfortunate outcome, since the crew was never found. This uninhabited territory, which now bears his name, lies to the south of Scoresby Sund. Surrounded by ice, icebergs and pieces of pack ice, Blosseville Coast is one of these wild and hard-to-reach places that very few people are lucky enough to explore.

Lying between Greenland and Iceland, the Denmark Strait was crossed for the first time by the Vikings in the late 10th century, during Erik the Red’s expeditions. In the Second World War, its waters were the theatre of a battle between the Kriegsmarine and the Royal Navy, on 24 May 1941. In the wintertime, extremely dense pack ice forms along the Greenlandic coasts and, while the Transpolar Drift sweeps icebergs along throughout the year, the strait is generally clear of ice during the summer. In the depths of the strait lies the world’s largest waterfall, an undersea cataract formed by the difference in temperature between the cold waters of the Greenland Sea and the warmer waters of the Irminger Sea. Numerous cetacean species thrive in this rich ecosystem.

Disembark early in the morning in Reykjavik. Iceland’s capital stretches along the edge of a vast bay in the west of the country. Perlan, the “Pearl of Reykjavík”, a museum located on ’Oskjuhlið hill, offers a panoramic view of the lush, green landscapes. A little further, one can easily spot the signpost showing the way to the evangelical Hallgrímskirkja church, and to the historical centre where one can stroll along the Skólavördustígur and the Laugavegur, two lively streets with charming small shops. For some relaxation just outside of the city, visitors have the opportunity to visit the Reykjanes peninsula and its famous thermal lagoons of the Blue Lagoon.