Odds are, if you are visiting Sweden in winter, seeing the Northern Lights is at the top of your list. Northern Sweden is one of the best regions in the world to view the Aurora Borealis. You can see the Northern Lights in Sweden because there are many clear and cold nights. Along with the ideal weather conditions, most areas in the north are perfect for viewing the aurora as there is so little light pollution.
https://www.facebook.com/tarendoforesthotel/photos/pcb.10153610910397972/10153610905332972/?type=3&theater
Instead of picking one night on your itinerary to wait and hope for the Northern Lights, why not take this opportunity to combine other activities with watching for the lights? In Swedish Lapland, you can possibly experience two winter wonders simultaneously in one spectacular adventure.
Driving your own husky team is a great way to see the Northern Lights in Sweden. Nothing is more magical than going out into the white snowy landscape by a husky-driven sleigh, especially under the stars. The husky dogs jump and revel in these arctic conditions and their enthusiasm is contagious. Driving under the open air and encountering an aurora is simply spectacular.
https://www.facebook.com/LapplandMedia/photos/a.407000209367553.92113.406979596036281/1003094973091404/?type=3&theater
The 20-hours of darkness in winter makes snowmobiling in the evening even more fun! Imagine swooshing through the forest and beyond, with no people and just the star lit sky above. Snow, speed and clear skies without a hint of light pollution is the recipe for a perfect snowmobiling adventure. The thrill of driving into an aurora is exhilarating.
https://www.facebook.com/tarendoforesthotel/photos/pcb.10153610910397972/10153610905332972/?type=3&theater
Staying on a remote island in the Luleå Archipelago is a unique way to see the Northern Lights in Sweden. Why not go back in time and stay at Jopikgården on the island of Hindersön? This is an island that only has less than 30 inhabitants living here year-round. Arrive via dogsled, snowmobile, Hovercraft or even by vehicle, using the ice roads. The Bothnian is the brackish water and freezes in the winter, allowing the locals to use the frozen surface as a road for locals to quickly reach the islands. Jopikgården is an old farmstead that serves authentic, locally sourced Swedish food, with rustic and comfortable rooms that hark of an era long gone. Here, you get a great opportunity to view the Northern Lights without any sort of interference. Just like the good old days.
Horseback riding and winter camping in the forest is a unique way to commune with nature and see the Northern Lights in Sweden. Companies like Udda Äventyr offers horseback riding in the pristine forest, over deep snow, frozen rivers and streams and in the silent wilderness. Adventurers can go out for many days and camp in small huts and cabins. After a long day riding, enjoy a sauna and a gourmet meal with local ingredients. Imagine sitting around a campfire with the dancing lights of the Aurora overhead.
https://www.facebook.com/icemusic.sweden/photos/pcb.1224393764242454/1224393407575823/?type=3&theater
Taking in an Ice Music concert in the town of Luleå is a musical way to see the Northern Lights in Sweden. The igloo concert hall is located right on the north harbor, at Gültzauudden, free from the excessive light of the town.
https://www.facebook.com/lightsoverlapland/photos/a.268340886523778.70025.237940209563846/1155197114504813/?type=3&theater
Take a chair lift to dinner under the stars at Abisko National Park may be the best place to see the Northern Lights in Sweden or any other place in the world. the Aurora Sky Station is located where the microclimate guarantees cloud-free nights and perfect viewing, as well as stellar four-course Nordic cuisine.
https://www.facebook.com/329378498707/photos/pcb.10153969017718708/10154088365143708/?type=3&theater
Hang out high in the trees at treehotel, a memorable place to see the Northern Lights in Sweden. The Treehotel in Harads is a dramatic way to view the Aurora Borealis. Whether staying in the Cabin, Dragonfly or even UFO, perched up in one of the stunning rooms at the treehotel gives you a bird’s eye view of the most dazzling show in the sky.
The last remote area of Europe is a great place to ski and to see the Northern Lights in Sweden. Heli-skiing is an off-trail, downhill skiing experience that is only accessed by a helicopter, instead of a traditional lift. Every morning, skiers board a helicopter and are taken to a special landing area on a mountain near Kvikkjokk. Skiing in the spectacular Swedish wilderness gives you an all-access, exhilarating experience through the vast expanses of endless powder, ancient forest, and spectacular views of untamed natural areas that are rarely seen by the human eye.
The Icehotel in Jukkasjarvi Sweden, along the frozen Torne river is a striking background for seeing the Northern Lights in northern Sweden. The magical quality of this spectacularly designed hotel sets up a frosty backdrop to the dramatic colors of the Northern Lights. Enjoy a specially concocted drink by the Ice Hotel mixologists, served in an elegant ice glass at the Ice Bar and look for the telltale green lighting up the sky.
If your goal is to see the Northern Lights in Sweden, now is the right time to start making plans to visit northern Sweden, take part in some extreme activities and finally see the Aurora Borealis.
[Image by Valeriano Jansson/Valerano Jansson Photography]