"Grytviken - Capital of South Georgia" Grytviken by MikeAtSea

Grytviken Travel Guide: 17 reviews and 23 photos

Grytviken and King Edward Cove - Grytviken

Grytviken and King Edward Point lie within King Edward Cove, a sheltered harbour tucked between Hope Point and Hobart Rock on the western shore of Cumberland East Bay. The rusting ruins of the Grytviken whaling station are situated on a level plan at the head of the cove, backed by steep hills and mountains. Seeing the size of the whaling station here one can only imagine what carnage was created by humans here until the 1960's.
Now the site of the South Georgia Museum, the station remains the main attraction for many visitors on the South Georgia Islands.
Sir Ernest Shackleton's grave in the nearby whalers cemetery and his memorial cross on Hope Point at the eastern entrance of the cove mark the importance this town was to the great explorer of the early 20th century.
King Edward Point, a low promontory just below Hope Point, is the site of the South Georgia Government's administrative centre and fisheries research facility.

Meeting Elephant Seals

The scenery in this area is exceptionally beautiful, the glaciers and snow covered peaks of the Allardyce Range, Mt. Sugartop, Mr. Paget, Mt. Roots, Nordenskjold Peak, Mt. Kling and Mt. Brooker form a magnificent backdrop to the cove and views from King Edward Point must be among the finest on earth.
The numerous sightings of penguins and seals that reside just outside Grytviken allow close up encounters with Antarctica's fauna. An amazing visit!
Grytviken has been the centre of human activity on the island since 1904, when C.A. Larsen established the islands first whaling station on the level land at the head of the cove. Larsen first visited the area in 1902 when he was captain of Nordenskjold's expedition vessel Antarctic. Andersson, the expedition's chief scientist discovered the cove while exploring the area from his campsite at Maiviken.
Antarctic was anchored for a month at Grytviken while the expedition conducted studies of the geology, plants and wildlife.
In 1904 Larsen returned after he had raised enough money in Argentina to form the whaling company Compania Argentina de Pesca - the days of the whale carnage started that led to the slaughtering of more than 150.000 whales until whaling was stopped in the 1960's.

Last visit to Grytviken: Jan 2007
Intro Updated Jan 13, 2007
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Reviews (17)

Blubber Cookery Things to Do (17)

Oil was extracted from the whale blubber in two rows of 12 tall pressure cookers. The strips of blubber from the... more travel advice

The Workshops Things to Do (17)

The Workshops were used to maintain and repair the whale-catchers. Maintenance took place over the winter months so that... more travel advice

The Petrel Things to Do (17)

The whale-catcher Petrel was built in Oslo in 1928. The Petrel was one of the first whale-catcher with a catwalk so that... more travel advice

The Graveyard Things to Do (17)

At times Grytviken was a very busy place, whalers, scientist, government officials and explorers all ventured into the... more travel advice

Comments (6)

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victorwkf Sep 20, 2009 at 7:14 AM

Great destination & information!
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regina.williams Jan 9, 2009 at 9:55 AM

Wow !! This is something very new to know !!! Wonderful pictures with great tips !!
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Trekki Feb 24, 2007 at 10:57 PM

Sir Shackleton again :-) And the gruesome history of whaling. Wonderful !
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SLLiew Jan 14, 2007 at 2:33 PM

Very interesting tips on the whaling history and wildlife of this outpost of spectacular seascape.
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Mariajoy Jan 13, 2007 at 5:11 AM

I agree with Allan! Great start here Mike, lovely photos! :))
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TheView Jan 13, 2007 at 5:09 AM

Nice page you have going here ;-)