A modern town at the edge of the ice cap

Narsaq's unique location at the heart of a magnificent fjord system - with green valleys surrounded by high mountains - makes it the perfect place to start your visit of South Greenland. Life moves here at a relaxed pace. Stroll among the town's colourful houses and admire the ice cap in the distance and the deep blue fjords filled with majestic icebergs.

Narsaq district has a total population of over 2,100, with roughly 1,700 living in the town itself, and the remainder in Narsarsuaq, Qassiarsuk, Igaliku and on the many surrounding sheep farms.

Narsaq's modern development dates back to the founding of a trading post in 1830 called "Nordprøven". Greenlanders who came to trade goods gradually settled on the outskirts of Narsaq. But it wasn't until Narsaq got its own fish processing plant in 1953 that the community really started to grow. By 1959, the population had risen to over 600 and Narsaq had achieved the status of a town.

Nowadays Narsaq has an extensive infrastructure, including
2 supermarkets and a number of shops and grocery stores,
a fish market, a hotel and other forms of accommodation, a restaurant, museum, cultural center and the Inuili food and beverage vocational training school.

Sheep farming was established as an important economic activity by a Greenlander named Otto Frederiksen who came from the village of Qassiarsuk. Today sheep farming has become an integral part of life in South Greenland, with farming communities in Qassiarsuk and Igaliku and over 50 sheep farms scattered throughout the region.