5 Best Places to Watch the Northern Lights in Sweden
There are few places on Earth better suited for witnessing auroras than the skies over Arctic Sweden. When you look up at the sky over frozen lakes and through forests covered in snow, you will be greeted by dancing green and purple lights that can light up your winter night. Northern lights enthusiasts have been visiting the Scandinavian nation for decades due to its perfect mix of low levels of cloud cover and long stretches of darkness in winter. But while northern lights in Sweden can be seen throughout the country’s north from Kiruna in the interior to Luleå and the sea, some areas are better than others for sightings. Here’s how to plan an Arctic holiday in Sweden for the best chance of seeing the northern lights.
Abisko National Park and the Aurora Sky Station
Abisko National Park is considered by meteorologists and tourists to be one of the best places in the world to see the northern lights. Located about 200 km north of the Arctic circle near the Norwegian border, the village of Abisko is under an atmospheric phenomenon called the “Blue Hole of Abisko.” The ridges of the Scandinavian mountain range block maritime weather systems that bring moisture to the coast. They force precipitation westward out to sea, leaving Abisko with a very dry and clear microclimate. Even when winter clouds blanket nearby fjords, there’s frequently a clear patch of sky above Lake Torneträsk.
The Aurora Sky Station sits up on the slopes of Mount Nuolja and you can get there by taking an open-air chairlift. It rises 900m above sea level on the plateau, where there is almost no light pollution. From the observation platform, you can watch the frozen surface of Torneträsk lake glow with pale lights. You can also see the deep, U-shaped Lapporten valley. If you catch the northern lights, you might see them arc across the northern sky or watch intense substorms erupt overhead in rapid violet waves.
Kiruna and the Frozen Torne River
While Kiruna is the main hub of Swedish Lapland, just a few miles outside the city’s mining operations there is subarctic taiga. And in the nearby valleys of the Torne River, which freezes over and forms a sheet of pristine ice every year, you’ll find yourself at the mercy of a sky that is devoid of artificial lighting. In nearby Jukkasjärvi, where the famed Icehotel is constructed out of river ice blocks every year, visitors line up along the river banks waiting for the best viewing spots. A frozen river creates an empty space in the woods, extending your view down to the treeline where greenish hues often appear during the first hours of the night. There is no other sound on the ice other than the cracking of ice as it expands in the extreme cold. The absence of streetlights means that even very weak auroras can be seen without the aid of any optical instruments. Kiruna also has a huge trail system within a snow-covered forest of pine and birch trees, which means you can get on dog sleighs or snowshoes and head into the clearing to see the aurora dancing above the dark, snow-covered spruces.
Porjus and the Quiet Laponia Wilderness
Located at the entrance of the UNESCO World Heritage site Laponia Area, the tiny village of Porjus offers an escape from mainstream winter destinations. Porjus is a remote Arctic village nestled between vast boreal forests, lakes and nature reserves like Muddus and Stora Sjöfallet National Parks. Due to the small number of year-round residents, there are very few streetlights in Porjus. A few hundred meters from the wooden houses, you will find yourself completely surrounded by darkness. The tranquility of Porjus makes it an excellent location for long exposures of the stars and uninterrupted viewing of the night sky. Located beneath the auroral oval, displays are often strong and active all night long. Observation spots around Porjus feature lake shores and open areas with 360° views of the Arctic sky. Away from the noise of tourists and buses, it’s easy to feel alone with the northern lights. When solar winds hit the atmosphere, they can create bright streams that cover your whole view, bathing the snow-covered landscape and frozen Lule River in a magical green light.
Jämtland and the Peak of Åreskutan
The northernmost reaches of the country usually dominate auroral travel itineraries but, just a few hundred kilometers to the south, the mountainous province of Jämtland provides a unique alpine backdrop. With its ski resorts nestled amongst high peaks and plateau-like summits above the freezing temperature inversion of mid-winter, this region can offer spectacular vantage points on the night sky. Most prominent among these is the peak of Mt Åreskutan above Lake Åresjön; it makes an ideal natural amphitheatre when the auroral oval expands to cover these more southerly latitudes.
To look at the lights from such high-altitude mountain slopes differs substantially from standing in lowland forest clearings. Here, the undulating forms of snowdrifts and ice formations sculpted by the mountain winds, plus the deep shadowed valleys below, make a dreamlike canvas on which to view the display. Though the K-index needs to be a little higher in these locations compared to more northerly areas inside the Arctic Circle, auroral activity is no less impressive when the sky lights up above the Swedish mountains. It is not uncommon for powerful geomagnetic storms to send vivid red auroral crowns dancing across the sky; deep reds and magenta fringes like these are actually rarer in the extreme north. And the raw beauty of the surrounding landscape, including isolated spots that can be reached only on cross-country skis through the Ullådalen valley, ensures you’ll experience the phenomenon in utter silence beneath the stars.
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