North Cape, Norway – Front Row Seats To Live Aurora Borealis
“Auroras” (also known as the northern and southern lights), are beautiful natural phenomena which occur in the ionosphere. They are visible during the night in the polar regions and “they go” something like this:
There are only a few special places on the Globe that offer a perfect view of the phenomenon and North Cape, Finnmark is one of them:
How to get there ?
Finnmark is a county in Northern Norway (see the map downstairs)
North Cape is located close to Honningsvag, the most Northern city in the world, which can also be reached by plane- Honningsvåg Airport, Valan is located 4 km (almost 3 miles) away from the city and 35 km (about 20 miles) from North Cape.
World 66 informs that “if you are traveling to Honningsvåg by automobile, the new mainland connection (opened June 15, 1999) is the choice for you. The Honningsvåg airport has daily flights operated by Widerøe. Another travel option that we recommend is the Coastal Steamer (Hurtigruten) which arrives in Honningsvåg twice daily. On its way to Kirkenes it stays long enough in Honningsvåg that there is time enough to go by bus to North Cape, stay there for a while, and return back again to the ship. ”
Honningsvåg is also accessible from all the major cities in Norway by car or public transportation. If you do not live in Norway, we recommend taking a cheap flight to Oslo and then further on to Honningsvåg.
When?
We found some interesting information here about the perfect time to go to Northern Norway:
“Seeing the northern lights is a jaw-dropping and mystical moment. The lights are at their most frequent in late autumn and winter/early spring. October, February and March are the best months for auroral observations. The highest northern lights frequency is between 6 pm and 1 am.
In order to get full value from the show you should avoid the full moon and places with a lot of light as they make the experience considerably paler. Also remember to wrap up warmly.
Theoretically, you can see the northern lights all over Norway. However, the best places are above the Arctic Circle in Northern Norway.”
Here’s a little end-of-the-post bonus:
Interesting article but could you make some recommendations concerning Honningsvag B&B options, I realize it’s an interesting tourist destination in and of itself but you could go the extra mile and offer well-rounded info on the place. Thanks !
I’ll see what I can do
And what about the temperature there? Will my sleeping bag keep me alive in my tent, or i need a tent with a stove and 2 sleeping bags? Well, at least i know that with my Salewa gloves, my hands will remain warm even at -30 degrees celsius. When they will find me frozen in snow, at least my hands will be warm.
I guess thats a nice place to spent the night… but just a few hours of the night, not 2160 hours of the same night…