the Kiruna region is in the so-called auroral oval, the area within which conditions are among the best for observing the northern Lights. If you visit us this winter, you can get an even closer look at the magical, mystical aurora Borealis.
Spaceport Sweden has launched a Northern Lights flight that will take you above the clouds. This exclusive new flying experience begins at ICEHOTEL with a presentation of the Northern Lights and transfer to the airport. There, a plane seating nine passengers and with a window at each seat is waiting to carry you skyward to a front-row view of the spectacle. Nowhere else will you have a better chance of witnessing this magnificent phenomenon.
The Northern Lights are a thing of wonder and mystery; they appear unannounced and according to no established pattern. Their colours are blue, white, pink and, most often, green. They also assume many guises ranging from pulsating waves to flowing curtains or ephemeral veils of light. If it is cloudy, at ground level, you are not likely to see anything, even if an incredible light show is taking place above the clouds.
The many different climate zones in the Kiruna region, together with good weather conditions, increase the chances of seeing the Northern Lights. The solar activity which causes the phenomenon peaks every eleventh year. At these times, the Northern Lights tend to appear more frequently, and solar activity also increases during the years following the peak year. Solar activity peaks this winter, so an impressive show can be expected this season and during the next two winters.
In addition to the Northern Lights flights, at ICEHOTEL you can experience the Northern Lights in a variety of ways – from a snowmobile or on horseback in the wildest of woodlands, during a guided tour at Esrange Space Centre followed by a three-course dinner in a wilderness camp, or on a guided tour by bus to Abisko National Park (which, statistically, has the clearest skies in all of the auroral oval).
We can’t guarantee you’ll see the Northern Lights, but we will give you the best possible conditions. According to the Swedish Institute of Space Physics, on average, the Northern Lights are visible in Stockholm one night in twenty and in Kiruna nearly every evening.
Facts
- The premiere flight takes off on 15 January 2012.
- Three more flights are scheduled for 5, 12 and 19 February 2012.
- The flight takes about one hour.
- For more information and booking, contact: carina@icehotel.com and www.icehotel.com.