Best Places to See the Northern Lights

Known by many as the aurora borealis, the northern lights are a fantastic display of natural light that may be seen in the Northern Hemisphere at specific times of the year. Vibrant streaks of blue, green, pink, and violet dance across the night sky as a result of solar particles carrying electrical charges colliding with gases in the Earth's atmosphere. If you're in the proper location, 2024 and 2025 are great times to see the northern lights because solar activity will be at its highest, allowing for an even more spectacular spectacle.


Clear sky, minimal light pollution, and the absence of precipitation are the ideal conditions for viewing the aurora borealis. The ideal months to watch the aurora are September through April, as the lights are only visible at northern latitudes during the night. The aurora australis, which has a counterpart in the Southern Hemisphere, is less accessible to observe but, with chance, can be just as spectacular.

Fairbanks, Alaska


Because Fairbanks is situated precisely under the auroral oval, it is unquestionably one of the best spots in the world to see the northern lights. This ring-shaped region, which surrounds the geomagnetic North Pole of Earth, is typically linked to the most vivid aurora sightings. On average, visitors can see the northern lights on four out of five clear evenings throughout the aurora season, which runs from late August to late April.


Tromsø, Norway


One of the best places in Norway to see the northern lights is Tromsø, which is situated around 220 miles above the Arctic Circle. In this northern region of the country, the sun doesn't rise during the twilight period of the day during the darkest part of the aurora season, which spans from September to early April. With this degree of darkness, there are higher chances to observe the aurora.


The city hosts the Northern Lights Festival in late January to early February, a 10-day music and performing arts event featuring a variety of musical genres.

Luosto and Rovaniemi (Lapland), Finland


Finland's northernmost region, Lapland, is situated inside the Arctic Circle. There are plenty of chances to see auroras here because the northern lights are most visible from the end of August to April, or around 200 times a year. The Sámi people, the only acknowledged Indigenous community in the European Union, over 200,000 reindeer, and Santa Claus, who may be visited at the region's largest city, Rovaniemi, which also serves as a fantastic base for an aurora expedition, are other notable inhabitants of Finnish Lapland.


Orkney, Scotland


Situated approximately 10 miles off the lonely northern coast of Scotland, this series of fascinating (and completely uninhabited) islands is one of the best sites in the UK to witness the evenings of the north. The finest times of year to see the aurora, often referred to as the "Mirrie Dancers" in the native Shetland dialect, are autumn and winter, with autumn offering the highest percentage of clear evenings.  


Yellowknife, Canada


Canada's Northwest Territories capital, Yellowknife, refers to itself as the "Aurora Capital of the World." Owing to its location at the centre of the auroral oval, the city hosts one of the most breathtaking light displays on Earth. Although seeing the aurora during more friendly weather from late summer to early autumn is advised, seeing the lights is possible up to 240 days a year from mid-November to the beginning of April.