Standing on a frozen lake, with the temperature at -20C and the air crisp with ice crystals, and watching huge curtains of lime, violet and electric emerald dance in an inky black sky makes you feel really small. Locals call them revontulet, or “fox fires”, and according to local lore they are the phantom sparks that fly into the air whenever an Arctic fox sweeps its bushy tail through the snow. There’s a more scientific explanation, which is particles from the sun’s wind hitting our magnetic field, but when you’re out there in the freezing cold, it feels like something is putting on a spectacular show just for you. In northern Finland, the aurora is visible about 200 nights a year from late September to April. It also depends on where you choose to base yourself: picking the right spot is the difference between peering at a pale green smear over city lights and being surrounded by towering arcs of colour.
1. Inari & Lake Inari: The Pure Dark-Sky Sanctuary
If the only goal is to have the greatest chance of seeing a completely dark sky with no artificial lights, then Inari is the place for you. Located close to 69° North latitude, the town sits right in the aurora zone. As it is not a tourist spot, it is a small village by the lake and if you get out of any house the light pollution is gone after about two minutes of walking. The main point of interest is Lake Inari. In the middle of winter, the lake is frozen and there is a huge flat expanse of ice with a clear view all around. Lying down on the snow can give you some time to look at faint aurora arcs before they become a full display.
2. Saariselkä & Kaunispää Fell: Elevated Horizons
Saariselkä is located just at 68.4° N next to Urho Kekkonen National Park and has both the fell wilderness and the glass igloos that it is famous for. It is certainly nice to enjoy some hot tea with berries while looking at the sky from under an insulating layer of glass, but Saariselkä's real strategic value is the high altitude. The smooth, round peaks of the surrounding fells, such as Kaunispää, provide an excellent view above the inversion layer of cold air and ground fog that usually forms in the basins of the valleys. When the clouds are low, one can easily climb up to the tops of the fells and find oneself with a clear, starry sky to look at.
3. Kilpisjärvi: The Far Arctic Frontier
Finland, Sweden, and Norway. At nearly 69° North, this little spot lies just below the sheer cliffs of Saana Fell, and is the highest tundra plateau in all of Finland. Kilpisjärvi's interior position, sitting behind coastal mountains, gives it somewhat drier air than the fog-bound northern ports. Aurora chasers often venture to this high valley, across the Finnish border, if the nearby coast proves cloudy. Here, with no city lights to compete with, the lights dance sharply above the stark landscape.
4. Ylläs & Äkäslompolo: The Dark-Skies Ski Village
While most ski resorts blast their slopes with powerful floodlights at night, destroying your dark-adapted eyes, Ylläs goes in the opposite direction. The town of Äkäslompolo actually turns off its streetlights every night during aurora season, leaving the sky as dark as possible for stargazing. Surrounded by the Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park, which is known for having some of the cleanest air in the world, the area features spruce trees sagging with heavy snow that can form surreal shapes (tykky snow), creating fantastic foregrounds for night photos.
5. Levi: Alpine Views Paired with Activity
If you want a more energetic itinerary including snowmobile trips, husky sled tours, and quality northern cuisine, and want to be able to count on good aurora coverage most nights, then Levi is for you. Located at 67.8 degrees North latitude, it is far enough within the auroral zone that there will be plenty of displays even during periods of low geomagnetic activity. While the busy centre of the village may have light pollution, there is an easy exit up onto the high fell at Levi. Being higher than the surrounding trees, you can enjoy expansive vistas looking directly northwards across endless forests. There are also ridge-top huts where you can watch the auroras approaching without battling the background clutter of the horizon.
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