ভবঘুরে Wonderlost In Wanderlust घुमक्कड़

Aurora Borealis SE 2018

Jan 28, 2018 - Feb 2, 2018

4 nights chasing Aurora Borealis in the freezing winters, 235 km inside the Arctic Circle, is a travel experience unlike any other.

Northern Lights on Lake Tornetrask

It was 12:30 am in the chilly freezing night and the temperature had dropped to -12°C. The windchill made it feel like -20°C. It was the third night of our Nightly Aurora Photo Tour. We were on the frozen Lake Tornetrask for over 3 hours awaiting some brilliant displays of Aurora Borealis – Northern Lights. We were inshore, standing on the rock solid frozen lake surface, approximately 4 km away from shoreline. Lake Tornetrask, the 6th largest water-body in Sweden is 70 km long and 11 km wide, offering clear unrestricted views in all directions. Today, we had seen a few good but mostly minor displays of Aurora Borealis and were obviously quite crestfallen.

Our misery seemed getting compounded as a snowstorm brewed over the frozen lake. What started as a mild shower of snowflakes was now threatening to become a blizzard! Oliver Wright, our guide from Lights Over Lapland, decided to call it a day. We packed our cameras and folded our tripods. The snowstorm was now intensifying. Suddenly, the skies above us opened up! Spectacular swathes of Green, Yellow and Pink lights danced and shimmered across the sky. We stood awed and mesmerised by the dazzling display. As Prasenjit made a dash for his camera bag to unpack his camera, I told him to leave it and just soak in the awesome display. Oliver agreed with me and told our group to just watch and enjoy the lights. He quickly unpacked his camera and started taking the photographs for all of us.

The dance of Aurora Borealis enthralled us for 15 minutes. As it died down, all members of our group were delighted and content. Tonight was a great success in our chase of Aurora Borealis. Happy, now we piled our camera bags in the baggage trolley and boarded our tractor pulled sledge to get back to the hotel.

Crossing the Arctic Circle

Our Aurora Borealis adventure started at 5:00 am on Jan 28, 2018, when our Qatar Airways flight took off from New Delhi IGI Airport. The flight departure had got delayed by over an hour due to dense fog in New Delhi. At Doha Hamad International Airport, a combination of quick running between the gates and some sheer luck allowed us to board our onward flight to Stockholm, even as the last call for boarding was being announced. Thankfully, with a 4 hour gap for our onward flight to Kiruna, we had ample time on hand at Stockholm Arlanda Airport.

It was 4:45 pm when our SAS flight from Stockholm landed at Kiruna Airport. As we exited the aircraft, a blast of freezing polar air hit us. We quickly made our way to the small terminal building and waited for our check-in baggage to arrive. Once we got our baggage, we boarded the Visit Kiruna transfer coach that was waiting outside the terminal building.

As the Visit Kiruna coach made its way to Hotel Camp Ripan, Kiruna, we got our first look at the Kiruna town. Kiruna, situated in Lapland province is the northernmost town of Sweden. It is located 145 km north of Arctic Circle, and is known for its huge iron-ore reserves. The whole town was blanketed with a thick layer of snow and the our driver navigated carefully at the road intersections and bends.

At Hotel Camp Ripan, the staff completed the check-in formalities quickly and we walked over to our cabin. Camp Ripan situated in the heart of Kiruna, is a resort styled hotel with individual cosy cabins spread over its grounds. We quickly unpacked our luggage and freshened up. Then we walked over to the Restaurant Ripan where we enjoyed a 3 course dinner. By now, the jetlag was taking its effect and we decided to call it a day.  

STF Abisko Turiststation

On Jan 29, 2018, we woke up leisurely at 7:00 pm. We freshened up, had breakfast at Restaurant Ripan, and then went around the hotel property for taking some photographs of the snowbound landscape. We checked out at 11:30 am and a Visit Abisko transfer coach picked us up at 1:50 pm for our transfer to Hotel STF Abisko Turistation, Abisko.

It was a 70 min drive from Kiruna to Abisko covering a distance of 90 km. Enroute, our coach driver kept us engaged with some useful information about Kiruna, Abisko and Lapland. We were also enthralled by the snow covered landscape on both sides of the road which presented beautiful views. Abisko, a small village in northern Sweden, is a rain-shadow zone and hence remains cloud-free 320 days a year. This makes the it one of the best places to see Aurora Borealis in northern hemisphere.

The check-in at Hotel STF Abisko Turistation was warm and efficient. As we settled down in our room, there was a knock on the door. We found Oliver Wright, our guide from Lights Over Lapland, who introduced himself and checked if we were comfortable. He informed us that our group would be meeting at 5:00 pm downstairs to try out the Arctic Overalls and Boots.

The Diverse Tour Group

We had booked Customisable Aurora Photo Holiday package with Lights Over Lapland. Our package comprised of 1 night stay at Hotel Camp Ripan, Kiruna on Jan 28, 2018 and Nightly Aurora Photo Tour from Jan 29 to Feb 2, 2018. The Nightly Aurora Photo Tour consisted of 4 nights of Aurora chasing at 4 different locations in Abisko National Park. The tour group was limited to 10 guests led by an experienced guide. Lights Over Lapland supplied a Digital SLR Camera with appropriate lens, batteries and tripod. The guests had to bring their own SD cards for storing the photographs. The tour guide helped with proper camera settings.

At 5:00 pm, we met Oliver downstairs and picked up our overalls and boots. We had booked rental snow-boots with Lights Over Lapland in advance. Oliver also handed us our camera kit, tripod and camera backpack. We were told that we would meet in the restaurant at 6:00 pm for dinner. After dinner, we would get dressed and leave at 8:00 pm for our night’s Aurora sighting.

At 6:00 pm, Prasenjit and I came down to the restaurant for dinner. Oliver introduced the tour group members to each other. There was a couple from US, another from Turkey, a family of 3 from Argentina, a lady from France, and we both were from India. Ours was a well-diversified group. We had a magnificent dinner at a leisurely pace punctuated with conversations with other group members. At 7:30 pm, we finished our dinner and went back our rooms to get ready for the night’s adventure.

Dressing for Arctic winter night involved multiple layers. The inner layer consisted of Polyester Thermal Upper & Lower Base Layers. We used an additional Merino Wool Thermal Lower Base Layer for extra warmth. The middle layer consisted of Fleece Pullover Upper, a Snow Hiking Pant, and a warm Winter Jacket. The outer layer was an Arctic Overall provided by Lights Over Lapland as a part of the tour package. Three layers of woollen socks, a thin one at the base and two thick ones over it ensured that feet would stay warm. The snow-boot was worn over the overalls and completely sealed the lower body. A thermal Neck Gaiter, woollen Cap and a thermal Balaclava insulated the neck and the head. We had 2 sets of gloves protecting our hands, a set of thin Inner Gloves and a set of thick Outer Snow Mittens. The temperature in the night in open areas could drop down to -20°C and we had to be adequately prepared.

Chasing Aurora Borealis

At 8:00 pm our group gathered in the hotel lobby. Oliver checked our gear and we started our trek towards our camping point for the night. We trudged through ankle-deep soft snow inside the Abisko National Park. After a 20 minute walk through the snow covered forest, we reached our destination which was a patch of raised open ground with a Sami Teepee. We spread around, setup our tripods and mounted our cameras. Now started a long wait for the Aurora Borealis to make its appearance.

Meanwhile, Oliver lit up a fire inside the Teepee. Whenever we felt chilly, we would go inside and warm ourselves. That night we had limited success with Aurora sighting. Oliver was first to spot a faint green light in the sky. While it was difficult to spot it, camera captured it much better. Soon the light became a bit stronger and then played hide & seek with us for next 2 hours. As we started feeling cold, Oliver warmed Lingonberry Juice over the fire and passed it around. Though, we were tasting Lingonberry Juice for the first time, both of us liked it and it did provide us with the much needed warmth. At mid-night, Oliver called it a day and we trekked back to the hotel. The first night of Aurora sighting was a mediocre one for us.

The second night on Jan 30, 2018, was a complete washout. The original plan had been to go to the Aurora Sky Station up in the mountains using the chairlift. But the chairlift had not been operating for last couple of weeks due to a mechanical fault and hence the trip to Aurora Sky Station was cancelled. The plan changed to a different location in Abisko National Park. Our group trekked to a campsite on a high ground on the bank of Lake Tornetrask. The site had a Sami Teepee and Oliver had lit a fire to keep us warm. While some members of our group preferred to stay cosy by the fire inside the Teepee, Prasenjit and I spent most of our time outside scanning the skies. After 3.5 hours, Oliver decided to return back and we packed up quite dejected.

The third night on Jan 31, 2018, turned out to be quite interesting. Our group boarded a 10 seater snow-sledge which was pulled by a snowmobile. Our camera bags were loaded on a trolley which was also pulled by a snowmobile. Tonight, our destination was Lake Tornetrask. The camping point was 3 km inshore on the frozen lake surface. Lights Over Lapland had also setup a wooden hut at this place. The hut had a fireplace and space for the group members to sit. Apparently, once the lake surface had frozen solid after onset of winter, Lights Over Lapland team had moved the hut on a sledge pulled by snowmobiles. The hut was to be moved to the shore before the winters ended and the lake surface melted. Oliver lit the fire and setup a kettle to warm up Lingonberry juice. He also had a bunch of Cinnamon Rolls that he warmed up over fire and offered to anyone who felt hungry. We waited for 3 hours with some minor Aurora sightings. A snowstorm started and just when we thought that it was another washout night, the skies opened up and we had a marvellous display dancing Northern Lights.

The next night, i.e. fourth and final night on Feb 1, 2018, was also a great success. Oliver took us a different location inside Abisko National Park. Our group travelled on the snowmobile pulled snow-sledge. The location was a flat ground with clear view on all directions. A small tent with fire in the fireplace provided cosy warmth whenever we felt the chill in our bone. At midnight, the temperature dropped down to -23°C. But the nature rewarded us with a great display of Aurora Borealis throughout the night. The displays kept popping up every now and then. The sky was the canvas and nature continued with its broad strokes using a thick brush. The 3 hours that we spent standing outside in bone-chilling cold was worth every minute and it compensated for the tepid display of the first day and no-show of the second.

Day Trips

While nights involved venturing into Abisko National Park to watch the Northern Lights, the daytimes were filled some interesting activities.

On Jan 30, 2018, we had booked a day trip to Icehotel in Kiruna. The day started on a shaky note when the Visit Abisko coach driver couldn’t find both our names on the tour list due to some error in the tour guest list preparation. Prasenjit called up Chad Blakley, one of the Co-Founders of Lights Over Lapland. Chad immediately asked his colleague Chris to personally drive us to Icehotel while his team sorted out the issue with Visit Abisko team. The Icehotel is made of ice blocks dug up from Torne river which flows next to the hotel. It has a bar made from ice blocks, some great art pieces carved out of ice and couple of luxury rooms made of ice blocks where one can spend a night. We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. The return journey in the afternoon was in the Visit Abisko coach and the tour guest list issue had got sorted by then. The next day, when we bumped into Chad during lunch in the hotel, he informed us that Lights Over Lapland had decided to refund the tour charges for the Icehotel day trip since we had been inconvenienced at the start of the trip. It was an exhibition of great customer centricity by  Lights Over Lapland.

Dogsledding was the highlight of the daytime on Jan 31, 2018. Each sledge was pulled by a team of 6 Huskies. There were 3 passengers and a navigator on each sledge. The Huskies were quite friendly and it was a great fun-filled activity. 

In the afternoon, Prasenjit and I decided to take a small walk along the hiking trail in the canyon next to the hotel. As we trekked in the snow, soon icicles started forming over our eyebrows, jacket collar, cap and neck gaiter. This was a new experience for us!

On Feb 1, 2018, we took a day trip to Narvik, Norway. Narvik is a port in Arctic region which remains ice-free throughout the year, thanks to the warm Gulf Stream. It primarily serves as the port for export of the iron ore mined in Kiruna, Sweden. Enroute, our Visit Abisko coach driver stopped at a few places so that we could take photographs of the scenic beauty. At Narvik, we went to a restaurant in the city centre for lunch. After lunch, we visited the Narvik War Museum that covered the World War II and the naval battles between Allied and Axis forces around the Narvik region. Thereafter, Prasenjit and I walked over to the Scandic Narvik Hotel across the road. This hotel is the tallest building in Narvik. It offers lovely views of the Narvik Harbour from the top floor. The top floor also houses a café and we enjoyed hot chocolate after relishing the views from the viewing deck. We continued enjoying the views of the snow-capped landscape as our coach made its way back to Kiruna, Sweden.

Once again in future

The great experience of Northern Lights in Abisko, Sweden, has firmed up our minds to have another go. The Autumn season, when the lakes and rivers are still not frozen and provide great scenic backdrop to the Northern Lights, is now definitely on our to-do list. With its excellent guides, great camera equipment, choicest locations and superb customer centric approach, Lights Over Lapland already has a repeat customer!

Oliver Wright Clicks