AURA OF THE AURORA - SUCHETA SARKAR

T R A V E L O G U E

AURA OF THE AURORA

Sucheta Sarkar writes about chasing the Northern Lights in Swedish Lapland

As a kid, geography was my favourite subject, as it always intrigued the explorer in me. Learning about the different parts of the world and varied phenomena of nature always excited me. One of the key reasons to move to Europe was also to travel to different places, experience other cultures and try new kinds of food.

Of all my travel journeys, and the most memorable one till date was Swedish Laplands, where I was fortunate enough to experience the magnificent Northern Lights, a phenomenon which I had only read about in school. I had studied about it extensively from the perspective of a traveler, and through this article, would like to share a bit of my winter wonderland experience.

We started from Munich to Stockholm, and from Stockholm headed to Kiruna (local airport), and then to Abisko - our final destination. The number of flights are limited, and sometimes due to adverse weather conditions, the flights may get delayed or cancelled. So, please keep additional days in hand.

Abisko is an extremely secluded and remote location in the Laplands, and is one of the favourites for Aurora Borealis chasers. Couple of things which we always need to be keep in mind when selecting a Northern Lights destination are - 1. Lowest number of Cloudy Days, 2. Longer nights (hence winter is preferable time to visit, but Aurora Borealis can happen anytime during the year), 3. No Light pollution. Abisko checks all of them.

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If Abisko is in your mind, make sure you book well in advance, as there are only 4-5 hotels with limited room and food availability. We stayed in 2 places, one was STF Abisko Turiststation, and the other is Abisko Mountain Lodge. Both are just fantastic locations, but I had a slight inclination towards the latter. Usually, you need to book Northern lights chases, but we saw the lights in its full glory, dancing and putting up a complete show for us for more than an hour just outside this hotel.

Make sure you have a minimum of 4 nights for Northern Lights experience, as that gives you 82% chance to see the beautiful green lights in Abisko (one of the highest in Europe). Get an app to check for G Storms (anything above 4 is great), as that is when the possibility to see Northern Lights is maximum. Check for no/new moon nights, as darker skies give better visibility of Northern lights.

For peak winter months, appropriate clothing is key. Mitten gloves are essential, as the regular knitted ones have no effect. Layers of socks, and snow boots are extremely important. Tight clothes are to be avoided, and warmers/inners are must. Frost bites are extremely common in winter months, which, in some cases, may lead to amputation too. Layers which help in warm air circulation should be packed. In case you forget to bring things, the hotels also have their own little (though expensive) shops.

And last, but not the least, get a good camera for photos. Make sure you have extra batteries as it tends to discharge faster in cold weather, and also keep your focus at manual infinity. You would not want to miss this if nature is kind to you!

Sucheta is a foodie, an avid traveller and musician by passion, living in Munich since 2016 with her husband. Coming from Kolkata (though roots are from North Bengal), Sucheta is a firm believer of the city's Chinese being the best in the world.

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