The ultimate guide to seeing the Northern Lights in Finland … and skiing during the day
- Lapland in the Arctic Circle is a prime place to see the Northern Lights
- During the day, you can ski on some great slopes and visit northern Finland’s ski resorts
Have you ever laughed at the sky? It was probably my bright red Arctic onesie that had put me in a good mood. Standing in a pine forest in Lapland in northern Finland with five others, all stood facing north, and each dressed in an all-in-one padded suit, I felt ridiculous.
Then it happened: the green glow we could see above the forest darted forwards and we were suddenly under attack. Green swirls danced and darted across the sky right in front of us, with rippling drapes dangling over our heads. I could not stop laughing. I had come all of this way into the Finnish wilderness, and got lucky.
It was the laughter of relief. The forests around Jerisjarvi Lake in Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park in northern Finland are remote, but I had taken advice and made sure I was in the area (which is well into the Arctic Circle at 68 degrees north) for almost a week. Too many people visit places like this one in far north Finnish Lapland just for one night, and see nothing.
Up here, clouds are common and it is cold (it gets as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius), and it’s a waiting game – but what an incredible landscape it is to wait in.
How to get there