The one that has been described on numerous occasions as the happiest country in the world, as it has been selected for another year by the World Happiness Report ranking of 2023, has arguments to also become one of the most requested destinations in the coming months.
It is one of the ideal places to enjoy the natural spectacle of the northern lights and boasts a wild environment in which the sub-zero thermometer offers exclusive landscapes. According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the best time to see this luminous phenomenon, considered one of the most beautiful spectacles in nature, is from February to March and from September to October.
One of the objectives on the route map of travelers arriving in the country is undoubtedly to enjoy the so-called “northern lights.” Lapland, the northernmost part of the country, is the best destination for hunters of this phenomenon. In the winter months, the polar night, days of complete darkness, is quite an experience to see these lights dance. Given their beauty, it is not surprising that they have reached our days full of spirituality and magic. The indigenous cultures of the area thought for centuries that they were spirits with messages, in front of which one had to remain silent to listen to them. Even today their splendor silences anyone who is lucky enough to contemplate them.
According to scientists, 2024 and next 2025 will be the best years to hunt the northern lights. The reason is explained by the 11-year course of activity that the Sun follows. This cycle reaches its zenith in 2024 when it once again reaches 11 years and a peak in solar activity is expected that increases the chances of appreciating the light phenomenon in heaven, only if we are in the right place. During this phase of high energy that closes the solar cycle, solar eruptions and flares intensify, so that solar storms initiate the formation of auroras on Earth. With this forecast maintained by the experts, it is time to start the route on the map of Finland that allows you to have a once-in-a-lifetime souvenir:
For lovers of nature, the cold and those who believe that the illusion of Christmas is something that can be celebrated all year round, this is one of the destinations par excellence. In the north of the country is Rovaniemi, capital of Lapland and the city of Santa Claus. Its airport connects with Barcelona and Madrid. In the winter months, thousands of tourists come here every day to find some of the main services in the city to begin enjoying the North Pole: hotels, bars, restaurants, museums, ski slopes, supermarkets and the first recommendations from the locals to become a true hunter of the northern lights.
From this month of February until March, Rovaniemi is considered one of the best places to enjoy the natural phenomenon, in the city you can see it around 150 nights a year. Several agencies offer activities to go out in search of this unique experience. You can take sleigh excursions in which the visitor is taken to the outskirts of the city, in most cases, to Mount Porovaara, to obtain optimal lighting conditions that allow you to focus your eyes only on the sky.
But if the cold doesn't convince us to go sledding, another option is the excursions that offer hunting for the northern lights by van. Although the thermometer will remain below zero during your stay, do not be afraid of low temperatures, even if you have decided to travel on a low-cost company and did not fit more warm clothing in your suitcase, these companies, which offer tourist activities, have of clothing conditioned for the cold that you can rent.
The stay in Rovaniemi allows you to visit Santa Claus's village, where you can meet him in person in his cabin and preview next year's gifts. Halfway between a theme park and a shopping center full of souvenirs, Santa Claus Village offers the possibility of sending a postcard from the North Pole post office, the place where the letters that boys and girls from all over the world prepare arrive. as Christmas approaches. It is located about eight kilometers from the city and here is also the Arctic Circle, crossing it is another unique experience for which you can obtain your official certificate, if you wish.
In Lehtojärvi, 30 kilometers from Rovaniemi, an ephemeral ice hotel is built every year where you can spend the night with temperatures ranging between 0 and -5 degrees. Quite a cozy atmosphere if you take into account that the thermometer outside can exceed -30. Every year and for a month, a team of builders and artists work designing each of the hotel rooms, sculpting the ice with different motifs. The more than 25,000 cubic meters of snow used for its construction also serve as a restaurant, a bar and an ice chapel.
If spending the night between ice walls is not part of your dream vacation, there are also igloos with glass roofs that allow a spectacular view to enjoy, with a little luck, the spectacle of dancing lights in the sky.
To increase the probability of enjoying the auroras it is necessary to move north. 300 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle is Inari, the capital of Sami culture. It has the largest lake in Lapland, an extensive body of water - with more than 1,000 km² of surface - that normally remains frozen from November to June. There are excursions to see the spectacle of dancing colors in the sky from the lake. Inari also offers visitors somewhat exclusive experiences that are only suitable if we want to see our trip budget skyrocket: you can spend the night in a floating igloo with views of the polar night.
This town is the gateway to the ancestral culture of the Sami. Here you can visit the Siida museum, the Sami Cultural and Nature Centre, and Sajos, the Sami Culture and Administration Centre, which are just a ten-minute walk away from each other. Siida is a journey through traditions and the link between the Sami people and nature, a museum space that is worth spending a few hours on. The visit can be completed in Sajos, the seat of the Sami Parliament which can be visited with guided tours.
Even if you travel around the map to the places where the probability of seeing the Northern Lights increases, we are sorry to tell you that you may not see one of these lights that may have motivated your trip. Getting to spot one is not so easy, but all is not lost. Take note of some of the applications that will help you witness this phenomenon and, above all, will allow you not to spend hours in the middle of the wildest and coldest nature. Applications such as My Aurora Forecast or Hello Aurora show some indications to take into account when we become aurora hunters. In addition, we can activate notifications to receive alerts when this phenomenon occurs in the closest places.
Both applications show a map of the entire planet highlighting the areas where you can see the northern lights, depending on the time of day. They also indicate in general values the percentage probability we have of seeing them, based on indicators such as the speed of the solar wind, the number of particles, the BZ or the level of electromagnetic disturbance. One of the fundamental aspects to take into account, and which these applications also include, is cloud coverage. To witness these northern lights it will be necessary to have a clear sky.
