Aurora Borealis – October 2010 – photo by Moyan Brenn

Travel Perspectives:

Dreaming of Viewing the Northern Lights

Earlier this year I wrote about my strong aversion to cold and how that’s been holding me back from visiting many places in the world and enjoying many wonderful cold-weather activities that I actually used to love as a kid.

I pondered how I was ever going to enjoy all those great places & activities again. And I admitted that somehow, at some point, I really must overcome my aversion to cold.

And now, recently out of the clear blue, it has happened. My body has mysteriously and radically changed its temperature preferences! I don’t know what’s amiss, but ever since I arrived in Nepal in mid September, my body has suddenly decided it enjoys brisk air, chilly skin, cold floors and much lower temperatures than I’ve been able to even contemplate during my past 15 years of blissful tropical travels.

hiking in Japan N Alps – I didn’t always hate cold

I have no idea why my body has flipped. Or how long it’s going to last. Whether it’s going to hold steady or become more extreme or revert to loathing cold again in favor of hot steamy tropics.

Lash in cold in USA

But for nearly two months my body has been very much preferring cold weather. Since this tentatively appears to be a constant & permanent state, I’m starting to really believe I’ll be able to soon enjoy traveling through places like Eastern Europe (which many travel bloggers are raving about) and Western Europe. Dare I say maybe even in winter? Ee-gad!

As my new & mysterious affinity for cold continues unabated, I’m thinking more frequently of the many amazing experiences I want to have in the cold regions of planet Earth. And foremost in my mind are the mysterious Northern Lights.

I’ve been aching to see the Aurora Borealis for as long as I’ve known that inexplicable, multicolored phenomenon exists. In my estimation, witnessing the Northern Lights must be one of the top experiences on our entire planet.

Since wintery pursuits now truly seem within my grasp and comfort zone, I recently started investigating where and when it’s possible to view those amazing Northern Lights. Here’s what I learned:

World Map with Latitude & Longitude

The Northern Lights are most readily seen from November to March between Latitudes 65-72 North. Checking out a world map reveals that Alaska, Northern Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Russia fall within those latitudes.

But latitude is not the only important factor for viewing Aurora Borealis. You need clear, cold skies unmarred by clouds, storms, artificial lights, pollution or strong moonlight.

The strange & amazing Lights are created by falling space particles and geomagnetic storms in Earth’s outer atmosphere. Those are not steady phenomenon, but sporadic. In addition, sun spot activity, which alters in 11 year cycles, has a huge impact on the phenomenon.

What’s more, Auroras are centered around Earth’s magnetic north pole, not the geographic north pole. And the magnetic pole is constantly shifting locations. Currently, it’s centered over the Canadian Arctic.

Aurora Borealis – by Zhengxu

For all these reasons, some years the Northern Lights are much more visible than in other years. Quite luckily, 2012 happened to have near perfect viewing conditions with aurora activity at its peak. That’s expected to last about 4-5 years.

I guess I’d better get moving on a trip to see Aurora Borealis!

Among countries that fall within the ideal 65-72 N latitude zone, certain spots are the most likely and reliable places to view Aurora Borealis because of their normally clear cold skies, lack of human lights, magnetic north pole location and other climatic conditions.

A final factor in choosing the best place to go is the ease of visiting and viewing the Lights. Several of the most reliable, likely viewing destinations have developed an Aurora Borealis tourist industry and infrastructure to help visitors watch the amazing phenomenon.

Aurora Borealis – Bear Lake, Alaska – by Joshua Strang

Taking all those factors into account, according to my research the very best places to consistently see the Northern Lights are:

* Alaska at Denali National Park and near Fairbanks city

* Canada’s Yukon and Northern Territories, particularly Whitehorse, Yukon

* Lapland regions of Sweden and Finland

* Northern lights in Iceland, with tours out of Reyjavik city

Needless to say, all those places are extremely cold, especially in winter. They’re also very expensive to visit. That means a trip to view Aurora Borealis requires a chunk of money and a great resistance to or love of cold weather. I’m not sure if my body is up to THAT extreme cold yet or not. But I should get a pretty good idea next month – November in the Himalayas!

Because of the expense and distances involved in viewing the Northern Lights, I think it’s a smart idea to choose a place that offers other interesting activities and sights in addition to watching Aurora Borealis. That way I can get more out of my long journey and my funds as well as have exciting things to do while waiting around, hoping to see the Auroras.

After even more research, I finally concluded that the place I’d most like to go see the Northern Lights is Lapland.

Lapland is a region that spans parts of northern Sweden and Finland. Both countries offer some amazing adventures in conjunction with viewing Aurora Borealis.

Besides that, Lapland apparently has been scientifically proven to be the best spot on Earth to view the Northern Lights, due to its particular unique micro climate.

a room in Finland’s Snow Village

Finnish Lapland sounds rather commercialized and family oriented with its Santa Village, Santa Park and Snow Village. But the region also has great outdoor saunas, a unique gondola sauna, skiing, and exposure to traditional Sami culture, complete with a Sami Museum.

The Snow Village has an Ice Hotel where visitors sleep inside all-ice rooms with atmospheric colored lighting.  Last year I wrote about Finland’s Snow Hotel in my report on Unique Hotels Around the World.

I also remember fellow travel blogger, Keith Jenkins of Velvet Escape, enjoying some crazy floating on ice water in Finnish Lapland last year, along with a gondola sauna and a night in the ice hotel. It all sounded pretty cool to me!

Reindeer in Sweden Lapland – photo by Andrew Crump

Swedish Lapland seems to be less theme-park oriented and more au naturale outdoor adventure focused. The region has 3 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and several national parks that are often considered the best in Europe.

They offer dog sledding, reindeer sledding and horseback riding. In fact, it’s possible to go out to see Aurora Borealis by dog sled or horse! Visitors can also visit reindeer farms, see moose in the wild and learn about traditional Sami culture.

Even more astoundingly, last year Sweden launched the world’s first ever flights to see Aurora Borealis! How amazing would it be to see the Lights while flying through them?

Just like in Finland, travelers can also opt to stay in a snow hotel in rooms made entirely of ice or snow.

 Conclusion:

Assuming my new affinity for cold weather continues, I will seriously have to attempt seeing the Northern Lights on a Lapland trip as soon as possible, especially considering that the next few years are predicted to have exceptional Aurora Borealis viewing.

It just so happens that I’m already tentatively planning to head to Eastern Europe next spring. From there I’ll try to find house sitting assignments in Western Europe over the summer. Then there I’ll be in Europe.

If I can hang on with house sitting through autumn, I could potentially have my great chance to see the Aurora Borealis in Lapland next winter. Fingers crossed!

QUESTIONS:

 If you’re in the know, which of these locations do you think is best for viewing Aurora Borealis?

 Do you know any other great places to view the Northern Lights?

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You might also enjoy some of my other travel perspectives: 

Confessions of a Cold Weather Hater

Would I Ever Live in the USA Again?

(* For more information about this post, please see this page)

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