The North Pole sits on top of the world but is usually not on bucket lists. There is no other place like this formidable location where everything is south.
- By Pamela Grant

Look down on the Geographic North Pole and what you see is a sheet of ice floating on the Arctic Ocean. It is not land. The closest land is the Canadian territory of Nunavut, followed by Greenland and Russia. It is in international waters and is a place where time stands still because there is no time zone.

The reason for this unusual characteristic is that all longitudinal lines begin at the North Pole which is at latitude 90 degrees north. This location beckons to those who want to literally stand on top of the world.

The North Pole summer does not meet most people's idea of the bathing suit and lemonade season. The high summer temperature is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and in the winter the temperature plunges to minus 40 degrees.

Surprising to some is the rich ecosystem that exists despite the lack of land and the frigid temperatures. Once considered a no-man's land where there is little or no wildlife, the North Pole is a destination spot for a variety of migrating birds and marine animals. Difficult to fathom, but the Arctic tern makes a 43,000-mile round trip between the North to South Pole each year. Its ice protects sea life like the Arctic cod, and the ocean sometimes hosts narwhals and ring seals.

Frosty Unclaimed Land

Those are the facts, and a vacation in such a desolate place probably sounds like it is only for the strong of heart and body. Images of yelling "mush" to a dog team and sleeping in a tent braced to withstand the arctic winds probably come to mind.

This is where it can get a bit confusing. The North Pole is in the Arctic, but the Arctic Circle is much bigger than the North Pole.

The Arctic Circle is a circumpolar region that includes land from eight countries: Greenland (Denmark), Norway, Russia, Sweden, the United States, Iceland, Canada and Finland. No country owns the North Pole (yet). The imaginary circle represents the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the sun will remain above or below the horizon for 24 continuous hours, thus explaining the fact there are only two seasons – summer and winter.

Greenland separates the Arctic Ocean from the Atlantic Ocean so it is completely in the Arctic Circle, while Iceland just touches the 66th parallel. Only the most northern sections of the remaining countries can claim an Arctic address. For the U.S. that means Alaska.

There are plenty of Arctic expeditions that never make it to 90 degrees north. A cruise around the Norwegian island Spitsbergen may be more than enough adventure. The island is in the Svalbard Archipelago and offers cold weather activities like dog sledding, snowshoeing, sea-kayaking and tundra hiking. If spotting giant walruses and polar bears is on the bucket list, this is the place to go. Yet, it is still not the North Pole.

On Top and Upside Down

As delightful as an adventure in the Arctic Circle sounds, the North Pole is a specific spot on the earth. There are two sea vessels that make regular trips to the Geographic North Pole: 50 Years of Victory and Yamal, a nuclear-powered Russian icebreaker.

Cruising on a powerful icebreaker ship to the most northern point on the globe inspires awe and is humbling at the same time because of the stark beauty of the polar icecap.

Travel companies offering excursions usually schedule some kind of event on the ice like a barbeque or a hot air balloon ride over the Arctic. There are only two commercial travel companies operating the icebreaker vessels, and they are Quark Expeditions and Poseidon Expeditions. Both ships start expeditions from Murmansk. However, there are other travel agencies that book passengers on the ships that make runs to the High Arctic.

One of the consequences of global warming is the melting of Arctic ice. The region's ice cover is thinning, and the amount of area it covers is lessening. Summer ice loss is accelerating, and winter ice extent is at historically low levels. Melting polar ice leads to rising sea levels, and that is impacting the land the Arctic Circle animals need for survival.

The warmest month is July, making it a good time to travel. However, in the "Alice in Wonderland" world of the North Pole everything seems to be upside down because warm is still cold and south is only north.

The North Pole does not have hotels or restaurants, and a round-trip cruise from Russia can take two weeks. As Quark Expeditions says: The arctic is one of earth's last frontiers.

Visitors will not spend a lot of time at the North Pole for obvious reasons; however, there are numerous expeditions in the Arctic Circle to please the most adventurous. A good example is a visit to Illulisat, a Greenland town in the Arctic Circle where the world-famous IllulisatIcefjord is found. This is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site and just too beautiful to describe in words.

Eco-travelers can focus on making their trip to the North Pole environmentally sound by ensuring the long trip to the Arctic Circle, or side expeditions once there, are dedicated to ecotourism and the protection of area wildlife. There are numerous guided expeditions offering opportunities to see the Northern Lights; magnificent glaciers; and a variety of wildlife that include Arctic wolverines, caribou, wolves, polar bears and thousands of birds nesting on rocky cliff faces.

There are also opportunities to visit the Arctic indigenous peoples who learned to survive, like the Inuvialuit in Canada's northernmost point or Kalaallit in Greenland.

The really adventurous, healthy and energetic travelers might want to time their trip so they can participate in the annual North Pole Marathon. Held at the Geographic North Pole, a 26.2 mile jog on an Arctic ice floe in sub-zero temperatures is only for the fearless. The 2013 and 2014 races also earned Carbon Free Status, awarded by CarbonFund.org.

This just goes to show once again that people can enjoy the world without damaging it.