Norway—Finland: On the Hunt for the Aurora Borealis

Aurora Borealis captured in Rovaniemi.

The ‘Aurora Borealis’, better known as ‘Northern Lights’, are a natural phenomenon which occurs at night. The scientific explanation of how it is created has got something to do with Sun particles reacting to the Earth’s atmosphere at both magnetic field lines at the North and South poles, resulting in rays of light dancing in the sky. Oxygen gives off green and red lights, while nitrogen gives off blue and purple. 

With 2024 being the period where solar activities are the strongest, the chances of catching glimpses of it are instantly higher than ever. The night after attending Graduates’ Night 2024, I was at Terminal 1 of Changi Airport, checking in and waiting to board my flight to Helsinki, before taking a transit flight to further up northern Finland, Ivalo. I was travelling with my family, though not alone as we were travelling as part of a packaged tour group booked in Singapore. 

Why travel up north of Finland, you might ask? Well, as it turns out, the further up north you travel (the closer you are to the Arctic Circle), the likelihood of catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights is higher. The plan for the first day was to travel to Kirkenes, a town in far northern Norway, and catch the view of Lake Inari as part of our scenic route to our accommodation. 

Much time was wasted moving to and fro from one place to another, and before we knew it, the sun was sinking down the horizon, and within a few hours, it was dark outside. Sitting in the tour bus for long hours was one thing, getting our butts sore and fighting to stay awake was another. I was beginning to drift asleep when our tour guide woke up the entire group with that loud mic of his, startling me awake. 

‘If you look outside the windows on your left…’ He began.

Taken while travelling on the bus to our hotel.

Everyone aboard immediately shifted their bodies to the left windows. Our tour guide didn’t even have to explain much – the sight was clear and right in front of our eyes. A pale-coloured shape appeared, and if you squint your eyes and focus on it hard enough, you might be able to catch a hint of green from the odd shape in the sky with your naked eyes.

The bus slowed to a stop, doors opening and letting the cold winds enter with our guide encouraging us to step out to see the full view of the faint Aurora Borealis without us craning our necks in awkward positions to see the white streaks in the sky. At this point in time, we were only halfway through the route to our accommodation, and the temperatures were unfamiliar and cold. Seconds into just standing outside the bus, the cold had already entered the layers of my clothings, cutting into my skin. I could barely stand outside for a minute before I went back into the bus, my body shivering out of the cold to the comfort of the vehicle.

I remembered everyone let out little ‘wah’s here and there, while trying to capture the lights on their phones or cameras. I mean, not that I didn’t do the same as well. I think what people failed to remember was that these aurora lights were most of the time, difficult to see with just our eyes, so there was some disappointment among the group. It was cool to see the actual green hues of lights on our screens though, so the disappointment went as quick as it came.

The sighting was totally by chance. It was literally only the first day, and our bodies were only starting to get acquainted with the weather before we saw them. We were totally jetlagged and tired (at least mine was because my brain was half-conscious at that point), but seeing the lights for the first time was as if our generators kicked back to life, freshening us up immediately.

Poor shot taken on the digital camera.

By the time we made it to our accommodation, we were all freezing our asses off trying to move our baggage into the lobby. With a quick dinner and briefing for the next day, everyone went to their respective rooms to call it a day, but not without slipping and sliding on ice to take a final picture with the fading aurora lights just outside the hotel.

After a one night's stay in northern Norway, we were to make our way back to Finland, heading to Inari-Saariselkä to a silly hipster-like cabin sized motel. I was obsessed with the font they used for the hotel name ‘Hotelli Kultahippu’. It gave the impression of 80s psychedelics that was raved about before (it also reminded me of Scooby-Doo’s Mystery Machine design but moving on). We weren’t thrown into the midst of nothingness, but we were instead surrounded by roads, and opposite our motel stood S-market – Finland’s largest grocery chain – where we went to shop and explore. It was built like a normal grocery market, closer to Cold Storage than NTUC Fairprice. We managed to buy some chips and sweets before heading back to shower and freshen up. When yet again, the Northern Lights had made its appearance once again, this time round outside our motel. 

Hipster-like font used for its signage, 'Kultahippu'

Shot on my father's iPhone, just right behind the motel.

My hair was proper wet, and I had already changed into my pyjamas. I had to make a quick decision of staying in or heading out dressed like that. Within 5 minutes I had hurriedly put on a flannel and outer jacket, my hair still dripping wet as we rushed out to the back. Our tour guide had his professional camera with a not-so-professional light setup to help us take a photograph.

We departed for Levi the following day. Arriving at Levi Village, also known as the Northern Lights Village, we were left to explore at our own leisure and pace before the tour guide reminded us on the Northern Lights hunting tour set to happen closer to midnight, with a professional photographer involved. 

On this night, the Northern Lights were, in my opinion, the clearest and strongest. There was an explosion of aurora activity in the skies, and travelling further away from the light pollution affecting the clarity of the night skies helped in seeing the stars and dancing auroras. The whole thing unfolded in front of our eyes, with the initial lights growing stronger and stronger, moving ever so slowly, streaks of multi-coloured lights happening across the skies. Everyone stood on thick deep snow, with some (including me) sinking knee deep into the white floor and getting stuck. After struggling to shuffle out of the snow, we navigated to a spot together to take a tour group photo, with the lights performing right behind us. It was a satisfactory night for all of us.

Shot on a digital camera trying its best to portray the quality to its fullest details.

Unfortunately this was where our lucky streak was broken when we arrived at Rovaniemi. We were staying at a glass igloo where we could sleep under the Arctic night skies, with an Aurora alarm in case the aurora activities happened in our vicinity. However, as wonderful as these measures were to ensure we would catch another sight of the lights, the sky was cloudy and hazy, so even a glimpse of the stars were impossible. It was quite wasted, considering how we were staying at such a wonderful place. 

We moved to another accommodation but were still travelling within Rovaniemi, where we had another round of a professional photographer to tag along with us on the search of aurora light activity. Although we couldn’t get to see the Northern Lights due to heavy clouds despite the high Aurora KPI (a scale defining the strength of northern light activity, and it was 4.0 at the time, one of the highest ever), the tour group managed to stay warm and experience the comfort of campfires whilst burning marshmallows and turkey sausages over the grill, drinking warm berry juice from a concoction of mixed berries, all while sitting by the fire to warm up our bodies.

The last time I saw the Aurora Borealis with my own eyes was on the final night in Rovaniemi before we made a flight back to Helsinki. With the failure of the previous night where we couldn’t see the streaks of light in the skies, we were determined to see the lights one last time before we headed for the capital the next day. We had never been more fortunate. At the last few hours before packing up and leaving for the bus, the clouds in the sky had slowly begun to clear up. The stars were becoming clearer, revealing the full beauty of the Northern Lights. I really went full out to capture the skies. My poor digital camera suffered under my hands as I placed it bare on the layers of ice and snow, tilted up towards the stars. With the cold draining my camera’s battery, it was a rush against time to ensure I captured the magical lights weaving in the skies while sitting on piles of snow, in the corners of the lake we were all standing at.

Whoops, a few travellers seemed to have bombed the shot.

An angled shot of the night skies with dancing green lights and flickering stars.

Favourite photo taken of the Northern Lights using my digital camera.

Our final night in northern Finland left us satisfied as we went back to the bus and back to our hotel rooms, preparing to pack our luggages for our flight the next day. Finland now stays up high as one of my favourite countries visited. The awe I felt while watching the lights was unexplainable. The feeling after seeing it for the second, third and even fourth time never grew old. It left me agape, not much could be explained other than small little gasps of being wow-ed away from the sight. When I came back to Singapore, I missed the cold weather. I missed the experiences of catching snow from the piles and starting snow fights with my sister, the crunch of the snow beneath my feet when I stood on them, and the view that took my breath away when the lights were right in front of me. 

Finland is a wonderful country to visit. If there was an opportunity for me to travel there again, I definitely will. Perhaps this is your sign to do so in 2024 :) Apologies for the poor qualities in these blogs, most of these photos were taken using my worn and handed-down digital camera, the Canon G7x. As a student, I could only rely on what I have instead of purchase a brand new DSLR unless I save up enough for one... Will definitely do my best to improve (in both writing and picture-taking abilities). Thank you for reading! Feel free to share and comment as well. Without further ado, here are extra shots taken from both phone and camera from my night hunts in Finland!

The day with high aurora activity but extreme clouds covering the lights. :(

Shit angle of the lights in Levi!

Another horrible shot. Look at the purple-green hues! Imagine how perfect it could've been.

See a 'sky full of stars' moment (a nod to Coldplay's song heh)

The lights appearing from the horizon as it reaches midnight.

Shot on iPhone!! Wonderful explosions of lights.

Thanks for viewing to the end! If you're interested in checking out the accommodations and activities I did in Norway-Finland, be sure to keep a look out on my blog, or follow for future updates :)

Written by: Vivyan or A Dose of Vivyan

Photographs taken by: Vivyan or A Dose of Vivyan, and family.