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Northeast Greenland National Park: World’s Largest National Park

If you have been to the Yellowstone National Park and were mesmerized by it size, you will find it surprising to know that Yellowstone isn’t actually the largest one in the world. The tag of being the largest in the entire globe has been successfully bagged by a remotely preserved land located in the Greenland that is about 375,000 square miles in area. The Northeast Greenland National Park is roughly the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined together or even bigger. The place, however, isn’t much popular given the fact that it sees only about 500 or so visitors cumulatively for the entire year.

Northeast Greenland National Park- World's Largest National Park
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The Northeast Greenland National Park could easily fit more than 100 Yellowstones inside it. Therefore, you can easily imagine how big it is. In the year 1974, the Danish Environmental Ministry along with the Greenlandic Council decided to convert the uninhabited regions of the Northern Greenland into a massive national park. The most amazing fact about this national park is that it is bigger than many countries all across the world, with only 30 countries surpassing its territorial extent in terms of area.

However, the area isn’t inhabited by the humans, actually the population count of this area in terms of people is exactly zero. The last census count for the area was close to 40 which was for the people living at the military outpost of the coastal region of Mestersvig. After the crew left this area, the population census was zero. During the winters, you can see some weather scientists, park rangers and their dogs scaling the area.

Northeast Greenland National Park
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The non-human inhabitants of the Northeast Greenland National Park are a big number. The place is filled with animal species that include hares, polar bears, caribou, foxes as well as walruses. About half the total animal population in this area consists of the musk oxen which is close to 15,000 in number. Apart from being a haven for animals, this place also acts as a biosphere reserve which protects the fragile tundra type vegetation in this area along with several species of birds that fly here to seek refuge during harsh weather conditions.

When it comes to hunting, only Inuit hunters that belong to the villages nearby are allowed to hunt or trap animals. Other hunters coming from places other than the close by areas are restricted from practicing hunting to help preserve the rare species. It is hard enough to reach the Northeast Greenland National Park. Most of the people who visit this place are the ones that stop off during the Arctic cruises.

Most people expect the Northeast Greenland National Park to be a featureless and vast icecap but this is far from the actual truth. The southern periphery of the park is actually sunny enough, which is why, is it called as “Arctic Riviera”. Even the tip of the park lying around the northern periphery is free from ice in a major portion. A trip to this beautiful tundra area is definitely worth your time if you love watching nature at its best.

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