I sat spellbound beneath swirls of lavender and lime as my northern-lights-hunting companion, Greenlandic guide Lana Bendtsen, prepared to do the unthinkable: whistle.
Growing up in an Inuit household, she knew the aurora borealis lore well. “The belief is that ancestors are the northern lights, and they’re playing football with the head of a walrus,” said Bendtsen, who launched South Greenland guiding outfitter Pink Peak Tours with her sister, Nikkie, in the spring of 2023. Those who whistle at the lights—often mischievous kids—run the risk of their heads being used as the ball instead, she told me. Yet, “when we whistle, the lights seem to move faster.”
After an hour beneath an ever-changing fresco of greens and violets, we decided to test the legend. I sipped my hot cocoa; Bendtsen pointed her face heavenward. She released a soft, melodic tweet. Soon, fellow sky-gazers near our perch atop the town of Qaqortoq joined, too. What followed was nothing short of magic. Within an hour of that first whistle, frenetic pinks and whites flashed beside the chartreuse streaks. The kaleidoscopic sky exploded more with each blink.
I attribute much of the night’s whimsy to Bendtsen’s whistling, but I knew we had another advantage on our side—a strong solar cycle.
We can thank the sun for those dreamy purple pillars and neon swirls that erupt near the planet’s poles. Storms on the sun fling charged particles through the solar system. When these ions and electrons slam into Earth’s atmosphere, they’re drawn to the north and south magnetic poles. They react with atoms and molecules in our atmosphere and spark those colorful dancing lights travelers trot the globe to see.
The sun runs through roughly 11-year cycles of activity. During “solar minimum,” storms are milder; fewer particles reach Earth, which means less frequent, and quieter, displays. Solar maximum, on the other hand, sees the lights at their brightest and most vivid—and it’s coming sooner than initially predicted.
The decade’s peak of northern lights activity, originally estimated to strike around 2025, will likely hit between January and October 2024, says the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Scientists say this activity peak could bring the strongest northern lights displays in decades.
That means now is the time to plan that aurora-chasing trip; take my string of nearly a dozen sleep-deprived nights beneath Greenland’s tie-dye skies as proof. Here’s how and where to see the northern lights; whistle at your own risk.
How to plan a Northern Lights trip
Catching the northern lights requires a bit of know-how. Keep the following in mind as you plot your aurora chase:
- Season: To see the technicolor magic, you need dark skies—think: autumn through spring in far-north locales like Alaska or Norway. Summer’s around-the-clock midnight sun obscures the auroras in these regions. You also want a spot far from light pollution.
- Weather: Add buffer days in case bad weather hits; thick cloud cover can conceal the lights. That said, not all clouds hide them. A good rule of thumb? If you can see the stars, you could see auroras—but they need to be active.
- Aurora activity: Northern lights don’t dance around the clock; their appearance correlates with geomagnetic storms. You can estimate their potential visibility via the Kp index of geomagnetic activity, which runs from Kp 0 to Kp 9. In far-north spots like Iceland, even a Kp 1 can deliver awe-striking shows. The higher the metric, the more exceptional the show; strong storms also increase your chance for rare colors, like red auroras.
- Location: The lights travel in a donut shape, known as the auroral oval, above the geomagnetic poles. The ring regularly encompasses far-north locales like Lapland, Iceland, and Greenland. During more powerful geomagnetic storms, the oval swells, which makes the lights visible in lower latitudes like America’s Great Lakes region.
Where to Chase the Northern Lights
Greenland’s low population density (roughly 57,000 people) leaves a small human footprint. That means minimal light pollution and striking aurora displays, even in the capital city of Nuuk. South Greenland, in particular, is an ideal aurora-hunting getaway. It’s the island’s first spot to welcome nighttime darkness each fall—typically in late August—and it enjoys relatively mild weather compared to many Greenlandic regions.
Try South Greenland’s largest town, Qaqortoq, with Bendtsen to learn Inuit aurora legends while chasing the lights. Don’t miss the new oceanside sauna for daytime relaxation while you’re here. Sea-view Hotel Qaqortoq provides a luxe spot to sleep between aurora hunts, and tour operator Blue Ice Explorer can help you explore more of this adventurous region.
Norway’s far-north city, Tromsø, lies at the center of the auroral oval, meaning it promises a high likelihood of spotting the northern lights—and offers several unique ways to do so. You can watch for the lights right in the city center thanks to Tromsø’s limited light pollution and jet-black skies. Or, book a quintessentially Arctic evening: dog sledding beneath the sky streaks.
To aurora hunt from your private hot tub, or bed, try the secluded Aurora Fjord Cabins. The property’s collection of glass-walled abodes, located about two hours from Tromsø, offers views of the sea and soaring mountains. A bonus: the world’s northernmost distillery, Aurora Spirit, is just a stroll away.
Alaska’s second-largest city is another aurora hotspot, with northern lights sightings almost every night the skies are clear from fall to spring. In fact, the Fairbanks tourism authority says travelers who visit the pine-dotted region for at least three nights have a 90 percent chance of aurora sightings.
Sneaking away from city lights will only increase those odds. Try the enchanting Aurora Villa, a minimalistic Scandinavian-style lodging with floor-to-ceiling windows to watch the lights from your hygge-filled living room or bed. The forest-flanked digs may feel secluded, but they’re only 25 minutes driving from Fairbanks.
It’s hard to find a bad aurora-hunting post in Iceland, with its lava fields, hot springs, snow-flecked peaks, and ice-laden lagoons. The island lies just below the Arctic Circle, and well within the auroral oval. South Iceland’s myriad waterfalls and moody beaches offer particularly scenic vantage points, including the nearly 200-foot-tall Seljalandsfoss, which is illuminated after dark for safe waterfall viewing.
Hotel Ranga, nestled in the south Iceland countryside, gives aurora hunters a leg up. The property offers a northern lights wake-up call and an onsite observatory to learn about the stars—a great way to jumpstart your star bathing practice—with photographers at the ready to help you snap any aurora ribbons that appear. Stay cozy while you’re lights chasing via Hotel Ranga’s provided snowsuits, then toast to a successful night of sky streaks via bubbly in the hotel’s naturally heated hot tubs.
You don’t have to leave the contiguous U.S. to enjoy the lights. During strong geomagnetic storms (typically around Kp4 or higher), auroras may skate over northern border states like Maine, Michigan, and Minnesota. Michigan’s remote Upper Peninsula, which has year-round nighttime darkness, presents the unusual chance to chase the lights in summer. Down here, auroras typically appear closer to the horizon. The U.P.’s position along Lake Superior—particularly the Keweenaw Peninsula, with its hundreds of miles of unobstructed north-facing shoreline—makes it the perfect scouting spot.
Try Fresh Coast Cabins, a sprinkling of hip, upcycled abodes on the Lake Superior waterfront, for your U.P. aurora chase. The property’s new Aurora Major Suite, designed by and for northern lights chasers, features floor-to-ceiling windows and a viewing deck that peers north across the lake. Cabins are open from May through October, and, starting this winter, guests can book Aurora Major all year.