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All Greenland Ikateq Bluie East Two

Bluie East Two

A surprisingly beautiful abandoned World War II military base in East Greenland.

Ikateq, Greenland

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Mark Pomponi
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Bluie East Two.   sonicpix / Atlas Obscura User
Bluie East Two.   sonicpix / Atlas Obscura User
Empty fuel barrels.   sonicpix / Atlas Obscura User
Fjord in front of Bluie East Two.   sonicpix / Atlas Obscura User
Boats to travel from Kulusuk to Tasiilaq.   sonicpix / Atlas Obscura User
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Bluie East Two, aka "BE2," is an abandoned U.S. Army Air Corps base from World War II. ("Bluie" was the military code name for Greenland during the war.) What remains of the disused airfield today are thousands of empty fuel drums and heaps of twisted metal and rusted vehicles. In the background, the scenery is spectacular.

Getting to this remote site requires some work. It's located on Greenland's east coast, about an hour-and-a-half flight from Keflavik, Iceland, followed by two boat rides. The journey is an all-day outing, but whales and glacier calving will also be seen during the trip.

The military base sits on the east shore of a channel from a larger fjord. You could spend hours exploring this place and its abandoned airstrip, and while you might expect such a place to be haunting, the opposite is true. It's serene and oddly beautiful, with a backdrop of mountains and glaciers and a calming narrow fjord channel in the fore.

Following reports of toxic waste, Denmark agreed to clean up this deserted site, many locals prefer it to remain as it is a bit of a tourist draw. They say that any fuel contamination has long disappeared, and all that remains are the rusted metal heaps and drums left behind some 70 years ago.

Related Tags

Military History Abandoned War History Fjords Glaciers Landscapes World War Ii Military

Know Before You Go

Visitors land in Kulusuk, and from there take a 40-minute boat ride to Tasiilaq on the island of Angmagssalik. Here, boat rides can be taken to Bluie East Two.

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sonicpix

Published

April 12, 2019

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Bluie East Two
Ikateq
Greenland
65.937183, -36.817065

Nearby Places

Kulusuk

Tasiilaq, Greenland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Greenland

Greenland

Europe

Places 19
Stories 28

Nearby Places

Kulusuk

Tasiilaq, Greenland

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Greenland

Greenland

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Places 19
Stories 28

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