The Northeast Passage

Tromsoe, the home of the famous Northern Lights, is situated a mere 2000 km from the North Pole, on the same latitude as Northern Siberia and Alaska. Most visitors are surprised by the prominence and sophistication of this fascinating port. On offer are high-quality theatre, arts and music, which contrast with the boundless and vast wilderness surrounding the city. Read more about Tromsoe, Norway

Heimaey is the largest island (13.4 sq.km.) in the Westman Islands or Vestmannaeyjar cluster, 7.4 km off the south coast of Iceland. The Landnáma Icelandic record states it was first settled in about 900. It is the only island in Vestmannaeyjar that is populated, with around 5000 inhabitants. Read more about Heimaey, Iceland

Located on the southernmost tip of Greenland, the largest island in the world, is Prins Christian Sund (Danish), 500m wide and 100 km long, with mountains either side rising 1000m above sea level. A scenic cruise through this channel is one of the world’s best day-scenes from a cruise ship. It is awe-inspiring, with its rugged beauty of narrow passages, dramatic rock formations, steep fjords, drifting ice floes, and towering glaciers marking the southern tip of the massive Greenland ice field. Read more about Prince Christian Sound, Greenland

Located on the southernmost tip of Greenland, the largest island in the world, is Prins Christian Sund (Danish), 500m wide and 100 km long, with mountains either side rising 1000m above sea level. A scenic cruise through this channel is one of the world’s best day-scenes from a cruise ship. It is awe-inspiring, with its rugged beauty of narrow passages, dramatic rock formations, steep fjords, drifting ice floes, and towering glaciers marking the southern tip of the massive Greenland ice field. Read more about Prince Christian Sound, Greenland

Nuuk is the capital and largest city of Greenland, as well as being the northernmost capital in the world, though 2 degrees south of the Arctic Circle. It’s a place where the old and the new are united in a unique and dynamic way. The missionary Hans Egede founded Nuuk in 1728 as the very first town in Greenland. Read more about Nuuk, Greenland

Read more about Itilleq, Greenland

Sisimiut is a town in central-western Greenland, located on the coast of Davis Strait, approximately 320 km north of Nuuk, and about 42km inside the Artic Circle (April 2017). It is the administrative center of the region and the second-largest town in Greenland. As the northernmost year-round ice-free port in the country, it is an important shipping hub for outlying settlements. Read more about Sisimiut, Greenland

Saqqaq is a village on the Nuussuaq Peninsula in the Quaasuitsup municipality of western Greenland, 380km north of the Arctic Circle (April 2017). The village of fewer than 200 is reached by sea only during summer and autumn. The village name means “the sunny side”, as it faces south. Read more about Saqqaq, Greenland

Kullorsuaq is a settlement in NW Greenland on Kullorsaq Island, Melville Bay, part of the larger Baffin Bay. The island is at the northern end of the vast Upernavik Archipelago that hugs the west coast of Greenland for a distance of 340 km. The first and official language is Kalaallisut or West Greenlandic, the colonial language being Danish. Read more about Kullorsuaq, Greenland

Savigsivik is an Inuit settlement on an island off the far NW of Greenland, in Melville Bay, an extension of the larger Baffin Bay. It lies well within the Arctic Circle at 76 deg. North. Read more about Savigsivik, Greenland

Pond Inlet is a small, modern, attractive Inuit community (population 1550) located on northern Baffin Island above the 72nd parallel. The town is particularly picturesque hamlet, surrounded by massive icecapped mountains, dozens of glaciers, ice floes and explorable ice caves. No wonder Pond Inlet is considered one of Canada's "jewels of the North". Read more about Pond Inlet, Canada

Beechey Island is located in the Wellington Channel of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago of Nunavut, Canada. It is separated from the southwest corner of Devon Island by Barrow Strait. The island is best known for being the place where members of Sir John Franklin’s party searched for the Northwest Passage in 1845-46. Read more about Beechey Island, Canada

Fury Beach lies on the east coast of uninhabited Somerset Island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It lies 176 km north of the Arctic Circle, and 180 south of the Northwest Passage shipping route that is becoming more frequented with explorer vessels due to the retreat of Arctic ice. The beach faces Prince Regent Inlet and Brodeur Peninsula of Baffin Island 74 km to the east. Read more about Fury Beach, Canada

Bellot Strait above the Arctic Circle is a 30 km passage, round 1 km wide, in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, separating Somerset Island on the north from the Boothia Peninsula on the south. The strait runs roughly east to west. Both sides of the strait rise steeply some 200m or so. Read more about Bellot Strait, Nunavut, Canada

Gjoa Haven meaning "lots of fat", referring to the abundance of blubbery sea mammals in the nearby waters, is a hamlet in Nunavut, above the Arctic Circle. It is the only settlement on King William Island. The name Gjoa Haven was named after the ship of polar explorer Roal Amundsen. Read more about Gjoa Haven, Canada

Edinburgh Island is located within Coronation Gulf, south of Victoria Island, in the Kitikmeot Region, Nunavut, Canada. Between Coronation Gulf and the Canadian mainland, the Gulf is 55 km wide at this point. The island is 15 km by 9 km, rocky and barren, with highest point about 154 m above sea level. Read more about Edinburgh Island, Canada

Ulukhaktok (aka Ulukhaqtuuq, Holman) lies 460km north of the Arctic Circle on the west coast of Victoria Island, in the Inuvik Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada. The small hamlet has a population of around 500. Hunting, trapping, and fishing are major sources of income. Read more about Ulukhaktok, Canada

Herschel Island lies 5 km N of the coast of the Yukon Territory in Arctic Canada, close to the border with Alaska. In 1987, Herschel Island Territorial Park was created by the Government of Yukon and the Inuvialuit, in order to protect the island’s natural and historic resources. Most of the island is composed of level to gently sloping stable uplands, vegetated by cotton grass, ground shrubs and wildflowers. Read more about Herschel Island, Canada

Nome is a seaport used by freighters and cruise ships, located on the southern side of the Seward Peninsula in Norton Sound, Alaska, just 250km across from Siberian Russia. It was a small Inupiat Eskimo settlement until the discovery of gold in 1898 brought over 20,000 fortune seekers, but most left after 10 years, and today there are approximately 4000 residents with half being Native Americans. Interestingly, Nome is the finish line of the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race covering over 1680km across the wilderness from Anchorage. Read more about Nome, USA