The Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun

Northern Norway is known for it´s Nordic Light, Midnight Sun, majestic mountains, arctic nature and exotic wildlife. 

The winters are long and stable, something that attracts ski enthusiasts from all over the world. The number of adventure companies and guides available is huge, so it´s easy to get that great outdoor experience whether it´s downhill skiing, dog sledding, arctic fishing or whale safari.

The Aurora Borealis, the Northern Light, can best be seen from September until mid April, and the further north you go, the better your chances are of finding that spectacular view. It appears just as often in Alaska and in Canada, but to see Northern Light in all its glory you need to get far away from city lights. And those places are not very accessible because of the long distances and the harsh climate. In Norway people live almost everywhere, not only in cities, so there are ways to get everywhere by car, train, plane or boat. 

That´s one of the reasons tourism here has exploded the last few years. 

Travelers from the US, Europe and Asia make up most of the visitors and the rise in growth doesn´t seem to have an end in sight. The Northern Light has now surpassed the Midnight Sun as most popular tourist attraction in Northern Norway, which used to be what attracted tourists to Norway and gave it it´s nickname, The Land of the Midnight Sun. 

The Midnight Sun is a beautiful attraction seen all, or parts of, summer where the sun is visible all night. The sun gets more visible the closer you get to the North Pole, but it can be seen all around the Northern part of the country, for example in Bodø and in Tromsø. It´s an amazing feeling to go fishing or take a swim in the ocean just like you would during the day, only to notice that it´s 2 in the morning. The challenge is to go to bed at night as it can feel unnatural to close the curtains while the sun is still up.  

But most Norwegians haven´t had a chance to see these arctic phenomenons as most people live further south where the bigger cities are. There has been a trend amongst Norwegians of spending summer vacations further south in countries like Spain, Greece and Turkey. 

This seems to be changing. Norwegians are opening their eyes for what´s in their own backyard, a chance to take in nature phenomenons most people may never get a chance to experience.