What's on in Ilulissat (Disko Bay), Greenland through the year

Quiet — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

• Season

  Dog sledding season

  5 Jan – 15 Apr · usuallyIce season

  This is the largest sledding district in Greenland and the teams work once the bay ice takes, roughly January to April. The 2,500 dogs you hear all summer are the same ones.

Still on: Aurora season (15 Sep – 10 Apr (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Dog sledding season (5 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)), Aurora season (15 Sep – 10 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Dog sledding season (5 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)), Aurora season (15 Sep – 10 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Dog sledding season (5 Jan – 15 Apr (usually)), Aurora season (15 Sep – 10 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Greenland's National Day, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

• Nature

  Whales in Disko Bay

  1 Jun – 30 Sep · usuallyWhale season

  Humpbacks, minke and fin whales feed in the bay through the open-water months, with July and August the reliable weeks. They surface between icebergs, which is the part the photographs never explain.

• Season

  Icefjord boat season

  1 Jun – 30 Sep · usuallyIceberg season

  The bay is open water in summer, so the boats out to the mouth of the icefjord run daily and the kayaks go out. The ice itself is there all year; getting on the water to it is not.

• Holiday

  Greenland's National Day

  21 JunNational holidayClosures

  The 21st of June, the longest day, is the national holiday: flags, national dress, coffee tables laid out in the community hall. Shops close and the town is entirely given over to it. Source ↗

Busy — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Whales in Disko Bay (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)), Icefjord boat season (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Busy — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Whales in Disko Bay (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)), Icefjord boat season (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Aurora season

  15 Sep – 10 Apr · usually

  The lights come back with the dark in late September and stay until the sun does in April. Clear nights in Disko Bay are the constraint, not the latitude.

Still on: Whales in Disko Bay (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually)), Icefjord boat season (1 Jun – 30 Sep (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Season

  Between the seasons

  15 Oct – 15 Dec · usuallyOff-season shutdownClosures

  Too dark and wet for hiking, not yet frozen enough for sledding, and the boat programme cut to a trickle. Flights north are also at their least reliable, which is saying something.

Still on: Aurora season (15 Sep – 10 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 2 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in November.

Still on: Aurora season (15 Sep – 10 Apr (usually)), Between the seasons (15 Oct – 15 Dec (usually))

Quiet — school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it, one of its worst months for weather

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Aurora season (15 Sep – 10 Apr (usually)), Between the seasons (15 Oct – 15 Dec (usually))