KULUSUK, Denmark (AFP) — Kayaking past blue-white icebergs drifting along near a pristine harbor, wandering around colorful houses or trekking in the snow-capped wilderness: July and August are high season for tourists in eastern Greenland.
Many of the 85,000 tourists who visit each year head to the west coast, but eastern Greenland, with its glaciers, wilderness and wildlife starring whales and polar bears, is also drawing visitors.
Sarah Bovet, a 29-year-old Swiss artist, said it's hard to know what to expect.
"Thinking you're going to be surprised, you are even more so in reality," she said standing outside a hostel in the tiny village of Kulusuk.
Bovet was on an artistic residency in Greenland when she visited Kulusuk and its 250 souls.
Although she had imagined a small village before arriving, its stunning views and bright colors still came as a surprise.
With just one supermarket, an airport built in the 1950s by the US military to serve a Cold War radar base, and a harbor surrounded by brightly painted wooden houses, most of the villagers appreciate the extra revenue from tourism.
Justus Atuaq, a young hunter in Kulusuk, takes tourists out on sled tours in March and April — the spring high season — earning money that helps him feed and care for the dogs he uses for racing and hunting.
"Now I can take dogsleds for hunting, and sometimes tourists coming from other countries also want to dogsled," he said outside his wooden house.
Tourists also take boat trips during the summer high season from July to August.
Arrivals to the island grew 10% year-on-year from 2014 to 2017, and 3% in 2018, according to the tourist board, Visit Greenland.
Many adventure seekers and nature lovers arrive by plane, but cruise ships also bring admirers, hugging the picture perfect coastline.
Growing strategic importance
But they are not alone in taking an interest in the world's largest island.
The Danish territory's rich natural resources and growing strategic importance as the Arctic ice sheet melts have attracted the attention of US President Donald Trump.
The Arctic region has untapped reserves of oil, gas and minerals, as well as abundant stocks of fish and shrimp.
In August, Trump offered to buy Greenland, then called off a visit to Copenhagen over its refusal to sell.
Denmark colonized Greenland in the 1700s, granting it autonomy in 1979.
Today, many Greenlandic political parties advocate full independence.