Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
Central Asia yurt night stars
Uzbekistan • 15 days, 14 nights
Central Asia Road Trip: Backroads & Bazaars
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
Small statues of Buddha line the path to the top of the mountain.
Mitaki-dera
A view of the Sandiaoling bike tunnel.
Sandiaoling Bike Tunnel
The old ticket house at League Park now houses the Baseball Heritage Museum.
League Park
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The local catch is delicious fried as well.
Terry's of Charlevoix
Carlson’s Fishery is a Great Lakes institution.
Carlson’s Fishery
The Cathedral Café maintains the building’s original church exterior.
Cathedral Café
Exterior of the historic Dyffryn Arms pub.
Dyffryn Arms
Most of what’s on the menu here comes from Michigan.
The Glenwood
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
Passersby stop to admire the punny offerings of Brooklyn’s only dinosaur bodega.
We Visited the Dino Bodega in (Jurassic) Park Slope
about 3 hours ago
Native Americans have a longstanding, rich, and vibrant culture in Wyoming.
Wyoming’s Sacred Landscapes: A Journey Through Native American History
about 7 hours ago
This strawberry cucumber sorbet tastes like early summer in a scoop.
Salt & Straw Wants You to Create Your Own Ice Cream Flavors
1 day ago
Catch a glimpse of some of the many wildflowers Crested Butte is known for.
Rodeos, Star Parties, and Festivals: Your Guide to Colorado’s Magical Summer Events
2 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All Greenland Qaqortoq Qaqortoq Road

Qaqortoq Road

In a country where driving from one town to another is literally impossible, this small stretch of gravel is a remarkable feat.

Qaqortoq, Greenland

Added By
Micah Spangler
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
Qaqortoq, Greenland. The town’s helipad can be seen on the far left.   Kim Hansen/cc by-sa 3.0
Qaqortoq, Greenland. The town’s helipad can be seen on the far left.   Kim Hansen/cc by-sa 3.0
An aerial view of south coast Greenland conveys just how impractical it is to build any sort of national road system in the country.   Schnobby/cc by-sa 3.0
With 81% of the country covered by the Greenland Ice Sheet, helicopters are the favored way to do any sort of long distance travel in Greenland.   Brocken Inaglory/cc by-sa 3.0
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

With only some 55,000 people spread out over more than 800,000 square miles, Greenland takes home the prize for the least densely populated country in the world. While this means Greenlanders have plenty of space to roam, it makes the actual logistics of getting from one point to another much more complicated than your average developed nation.

In fact, the country's vastness coupled with its naturally icy and rocky terrain means that while there are roads within communities, none of Greenland's towns or cities are connected to one another over land. Constructing even a basic road between two Greenlandic population centers is prohibitively expensive and equally impractical. As a result, Greenlanders must take to the skies, or hop on a boat when the weather allows, to travel any meaningfully long distance within the country.

That's why at just 3.8 miles (6.2 kilometers) long, a newly built road in Qaqortoq, in the country’s far south, holds the impressive title of  the country's longest single road built since World War II. To be honest, there isn't much competition.

As of now, though, the longest road in Greenland is also a road to nowhere. Constructed in 2015 to link the town to a new nearby airport that will boast a nearly 5,000 foot (1,500 meters) long runway, the road was completed but the airport has yet to materialize. Until that happens, Qaqortoq’s 3,000 residents will have to stick to the town’s helipad for their travel needs.

Related Tags

Roads Transportation Infrastructure Urban Planning Travel

Community Contributors

Added By

micahspangler

Edited By

78parkwayeast, cdanesh

  • 78parkwayeast
  • cdanesh

Published

September 23, 2019

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://leica-geosystems.com/en-us/about-us/news-room/customer-magazine/reporter-78/building-the-longest-road-in-greenland
Qaqortoq Road
Qaqortoq
Greenland
60.727716, -46.022471

Nearby Places

Stone & Man

Qaqortoq, Greenland

miles away

Mindebrønden

Qaqortoq, Greenland

miles away

Garðar Cathedral Ruins

Igaliku, Greenland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Qaqortoq

Qaqortoq

Greenland

Places 3

Nearby Places

Stone & Man

Qaqortoq, Greenland

miles away

Mindebrønden

Qaqortoq, Greenland

miles away

Garðar Cathedral Ruins

Igaliku, Greenland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Qaqortoq

Qaqortoq

Greenland

Places 3

Related Places

  • No. 2 Plank Road Tollgate House.

    Okemos, Michigan

    No. 2 Plank Road Tollgate House

    The last remaining tollhouse in Michigan built during the 19th-century plank road craze.

  • The roundabout in 1973, shortly after it opened.

    Hertfordshire, England

    Magic Roundabout

    A giant roundabout made up of six smaller roundabouts can befuddle the uninitiated.

  • Kawazu-Nanadaru Loop Bridge.

    Kawazu, Japan

    Kawazu Nanadaru Loop Bridge

    An ingenious solution to a tricky engineering problem, this spiraling bridge takes drivers for a dizzying spin.

  • Mi Teleférico.

    La Paz, Bolivia

    Mi Teleférico

    The soaring gondola lines form the longest aerial cable car system in the world.

  • Rotterdam, Netherlands

    Street Posts Museum

    An unexpected public exhibit showcases the diversity of Dutch street posts.

  • The Holborn Viaduct as seen from Farringdon Street.

    London, England

    Holborn Viaduct

    London’s first road overpass is so old that it was originally built for horse-drawn carriages.

  • Chattanooga, Tennessee

    Bench Avenue

    When local government began removing public benches, the public pushed back, and vibrant, community-built seating now outnumbers the official shelters at Chattanooga bus stops.

  • A white stone with "3M" carved into it along a bike path

    Brooklyn, New York

    '3M' Mile Marker on Ocean Parkway

    The last remaining 19th-century mile marker along the historic Ocean Parkway.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.