One of my biggest dream has always been to see the Northern Lights, but I have always been stopped by the very cold temperature. That’s why, during the years, I have chosen hotter sites in the world.
In September I finally decided to go through the discovery of the Northern Lights, so I spent lot of days making research: where to go? When is the best period? Where are the best sites to see the Lights?
The destination: Abisko
At the end of my research I decided to go to Abisko. It’s a little sweden village, 250km north from the Artic Circle with only 100 inhabitants. Here you can find the Abisko National Park. But why Abisko? Among all the regions in which we can see the Northern Lights this is the place where you can have the highest chances to meet the sky with no clouds, and this is very important.
Here you might have the opportunity to see the Northern Lights 300 days in a year. Lonely Planet classified Abisko as the best destination in the world to see the lights. The best period to assist this show goes from the end of August to the end of March with December and January as the best months.
I decided to go to Abisko at the end of November because of the high chance to see the Northern Lights and also because the temperature wouldn’t been too much cold. Moreover, in this period Abisko boasts of 4/5 hours of sunshine and this allow people to enjoy the day doing some trekking in the national park.
Transfers
Landed at Kiruna Airport with a Norwegian fly from Stockholm, I reached Abisko with a one hour and a half car tripthanks to the transport service supplied by Visit Abisko, easy to book using this link: https://www.visitabisko.com/booking/transfer-abisko-bjorkliden-kiruna/ .
Experiences
There are many activites you can take part in Abisko, if you love trekking you can do it on your own into the National Park, but regarding the other activites I would recomend to trust Visit Abisko and Lights Over Lapland.
The Great Aurora Chase. In this excursion I went to search the Northern Lights toghether with one of the photographer of Visit Abisko team. We have searched the best spot to assist this magic show. Moreover, if you have a camera, the expert will give you precious advice for your shots.
Wilderness Aurora photo adventure. This is another excursion to see the Northern Lights but in a wild style. It will be a total immersion in the nature with the team of Lights Over Lapland. You will also receive an essential kit to take your best pictures following the photographer advices.
You can opt to enjoy the show of the Lights on your own, without taking part on any kind of tour. It’s absolutely feasible. In my opinion the best location is the Tornetrask lake shore which you can reach through several links from the main road.
In my personal opinion, if it’s the first time you live this kind of experience, I suggest you to follow a local guide almost for the first night you spend there, so that he/she wil inform you about everything you need to know.
Fjall to Fjord - Narvik day trip: a whole day in Norway discovering the fjords and the city of Narvik toghether with a guide of Visit Abisko team.