Grand Canyon of the Arctic Circle

Approaching Disko Island by boat feels like heading toward Skull Island in search of the great ape, King Kong. A prehistoric land looms as the sea succumbs to unforgiving terrain — craggy, jagged and mountainous.

Forged by fire, the island is a few hours boat ride from the icy mainland of Greenland. Its landscape is completely different from the rest of the Arctic country because a volcanic past gave Disko black sand beaches and rugged landscape, cnn. com reported.

But its most striking features are huge, red flattop mountains that locals call the Grand Canyon. They tower over Qeqertarsuaq, the island’s only settlement. It’s a small town of colorful houses where people never fail to wave hello and smile to anyone passing them on the street

Qeqertarsuaq is home to about 1,800 people, including a lone taxi driver who, surprisingly, is called Steve. “My parents really liked Steve Mcqueen movies,” he said with a wry shrug.

Steve and his taxi are pretty much all the tourism infrastructure there is on Disko. Anyone wanting to see the island’s beauty will need the help of a local fisherman or at least someone who owns a boat.

That could all change if Mark Mølgaard gets his way.

“My dream is to build a huge hotel here and have boats and an airstrip so more tourists can come here,” said Mølgaard, a local who takes visitors on informal boat tours.

“Have you ever seen whales? You’ll see some today,” he said. “We see whales every day, mostly humpback and fin whales.”

They may be easy to find, but Mølgaard said building a hotel on the black beach just outside of town would make it even easier. But, for the time being, that remains just a dream.

“The whales feed very close to the coast there and they jump in the air,” he says.

“Before they jump, the small fish, the capelin, run for their lives and suddenly the humpback whales come up from the water, and we can see the whole of the body. They jump and land on the water and then splash!

“It will be maybe the only hotel in the world that has a view from the bed to whales only 50 meters (about 165 feet) from them.”

Basalt columns

Heading east from the black beach, glacial melt water sends little waterfalls over coastal cliffs. Farther on, basalt columns — natural formations of rock that look completely unnatural — rise out of the water.

“They look like LEGO,” said Mølgaard. “Like someone has cut them into layers.”

Exploring this terrain requires a jump from the boat onto a relatively safe piece of rock and a scramble up the side of one of the basalt cliffs. It’s worth the effort.

Atop the cliffs is a stunning landscape that transforms from black rock into a lush land of streams and angelica plants. The plants, known locally as kuannit, give this part of the island its name.

“You can just take them and pick them up and eat them,” Mølgaard said.

Continuing east by boat, huge stone arches big enough to sail through appear from the water. One, sacred to the Greenlandic people, was where fishermen would traditionally offer an animal sacrifice to the Mother of the Sea before heading out to hunt.

As the boat navigates past icebergs that shimmer in the Sun, giant canyons that resemble the landscape of the Colorado River open up. It becomes clear why locals call these mountains the Grand Canyon of Disko Island.

“It’s an once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Mølgaard said, smiling.

Hike to the waterfalls

Eventually we arrive at a green valley, split by blue rivers, sandwiched between red mountains. Mølgaard moors the boat on a black beach so pristine it feels like no one has ever left a footprint on it. The prehistoric appearance is so intense, it wouldn’t feel out of place to see a dinosaur.

This valley is why Mølgaard has brought us here.

“To the waterfalls it’s a 20-minute hike,” he said, leading the way along rivers lined on either bank by Greenland’s national flower, a pink fireweed.