Getting close and personal with the poetically named Aurora Borealis is a popular feature on the travel bucket list for many. The strange Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis starts high in the Earth’s atmosphere at heights from 60 to over 250 miles- when charged particles from the sun get trapped in the magnetic field of the Earth. Ultimately, you see a colorful, dancing light show. For enjoying the best seats to this celestial scene, consider anywhere with a pleasant latitude over 55 degrees and low light pollution. Here are some of the best places to see the Northern Lights.
What are the Northern Lights?
For novices, the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are a natural trend nicknamed after the Roman goddess of dawn. These colorful lights that change the Arctic Sky appear when highly charged electrons from the solar winds come together with different atmospheric elements in the North Pole.
Best Time to See the Northern Lights
Similarly like most natural phenomena, the Northern Lights do not follow a fixed timetable, which makes it hard to determine the best time to see them. To narrow it down, the Lights are “on” the entire year, but it is hard to see them from April to August due to the scorching sun. September to March is generally considered as the “best time” to see the Northern lights. Autumn months, with a tolerable climate, are a good time to visit these Arctic lands. However, if you can tolerate the cold, dark nights from January to March, then you will get front rows to watch this illuminated sight.
Best Places to See the Northern Lights
At the Kalslauttanen Resort in Finland, you do not even need to get out of your bed to see the beautiful northern lights. Stare up through the glass-domed igloo, and you will glide off to sleep as fuchsia, indigo steaks, and emerald green light up the whole sky. North of the Arctic circle in the huge Finnish Lapland, surrounded by towering pines is a beautiful place to watch the Aurora Lights, which has been delighting and confounding observers for centuries. Towns across Alaska, Scandinavia, and Canada market lights as the main attraction, providing memorable experiences for both luxury travelers and adventures.
The lights, which are initiated by charged particles from the sun hitting with atoms in Earth’s air, make for a stunning natural display and can be seen from different places across the world. In Churchill, you can watch these lights dance over a family of polar bears from the comfort pf your sleeper car. If you are planning to see nature’s light show, then here are the best ways to see the Northern Lights.
Fairbanks, Alaska
Situated just two degrees under the Arctic near the International Airport and close to the remarkable Denali National park, Fairbanks is one of the best places in the United States to take in the Northern Lights. It has its own forecast system and provides tours to take visitors far from the city lights. The phenomenon is frequently seen between 11:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m., but the early to bed people do not have to worry. Guests who are staying in a hotel can request a knock on the door or a phone call when the Northern Lights are spotted in the sky. The best time to visit Fairbanks to see the Northern Lights is from Late August to Mid-April.
Iceland
With or without the Northern Lights, Iceland is a beautiful place to visit, with geysers, glaciers, volcanoes, and huge waterfalls. Both the longitude and latitude of the country favor aurora viewing, but the climate is not always suitable. However, a good coastline road in an around the country lets you watch clear skies. You can see the best auroras from Kirkjufell mountain on the West Coast. You can even watch the Northern Lights from the suburbs of Reykjavik and the Grotta Lighthouse. If you are planning to watch Aurora lights from Iceland, then better you go in the month of August to April.
Svalbard, Norway
This is one of the best places to see the Northern Lights. Norway has plenty of popular vantage points. Among those, Svalbard is the most popular one. It is a series of Arctic Islands, in the middle of continental Norway and the North Pole. Due to the archipelago experiences polar night, or perpetual darkness, between February and mid-November, it provides visitors double the chance to see the lights and is the only place in this world where you can watch this phenomenon during the day time. You can beat the cold on a snowmobile trip with biscuits and warm drinks.
Kakslauttanen in Finland
Stare at the Northern Lights in a unique style- from within your glass-roofed igloo, and then plunge into an old log cabin that comes with open fire and a sauna. You can enjoy this and much more at the Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort in the Finnish Lapland. If the Lights attract you, there is several other stuffs that will keep you occupied. You can begin with Skiing around the Urho National Park or enjoy a reindeer safari. You will be just two hours by road away from the Russian border so either you can drive across or keep everything over a dog sled and visit Santa at Koryatunturi.
Tromsø in Norway
This is the largest urban city in Northern Norway. It is about 217 miles north of Arctic Circle. Thanks to the Gulf Stream, the coastline has remarkably moderate temperatures. It has beautiful scenery, the Lyngen Alps, and superb fjords. You can see the lovely Auroras from the village of Ersfjordbotn, which is about 12 miles from Tromso. Other popular places in this country from where you can enjoy the beautiful auroras are the far northern town of Kirkenes, Alta, and Nordkapp along with the Lofoten islands. Make sure you visit this place anytime from September to March.
Greenland
With minimum light pollution and near to perfect visibility in some areas, Greeland offers exceptional odds for watching the milky-green lights. Night stay for three to four days during the aurora season guarantees a beautiful sight. If roughing is what you like, then you must plan to go to Kangerlussuaq. This was earlier a military base camp situated near the airport. These days, it hosts aurora excursions that include a tour to observe this exceptional phenomenon.
Scotland
In Scotland, the lights go by a distinctly more British name: the Mirrie Dancers. They can be seen across the U.K. during the winter and autumn months. However, the best bet is to visit the northernmost areas of the Shetland Islan or Highland.
You can book your room at the Sumburgh Head, a restored Shetland Lighthouse overseeing a puffin nesting area on the Atlantic or visit the Isle of Lewis to watch the display above an ancient manmade wonder, i.e. the Callanish Standing Stones, a spherical development of rocks thought to have been created about 5,000 years ago.
Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania
You do not essentially require a place ticker to see the lights. Secluded from big cities like Pittsburgh, Cherry Springs State Park, and Philadelphia, is wholly committed to preserving its extremely dark sky. This area is classified as a Gold Level International Dark Sky Park. This Park has special light fixtures that do not hinder visibility and have strict rules and regulations about car headlights and flashlights.
These are some of the best places to see the Northern Lights. Next time, when you decide to watch the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis, visit any of these places.