Best Northern Lights Tours

When is the best time to see Northern Lights in Murmansk or Khibiny?

In general, October to March, however it is about solar activity and dark nights rather then climate or season. You may catch Aurora through the year following a few simple rules: avoid cities where night lighting prevents from seeing the real Lights (though, it is still possible to see Aurora in the cities!), stay for a few days to increase your chances (though, you might be lucky with a one night stay as well), stay awake through the night (though during winter months you may see Aurora Borealis during daytime). As you see, there are no rules to follow. We suggest, based on other activities available in the area - seasonal issue - a few trips per year. In winter, you will see endless snow-white covered tundra and Aurora in the skies. Beautiful? Yes... But think of lakes and rivers free from ice and snow and mesmerizing Northern Lights reflecting in the waters during autumn or early spring...Who would dare to claim what's better?

Lovozero is the top destination of Kola Peninsula for Aurora Borealis viewing, there are very high chances to observe it directly at the eco lodges of Lovozero national park. However we recommend to spend at least 3 nights here to maximize the chances of Aurora Borealis viewing, and due to remoteness of the location. Besides, Lozovero is famous for a very special mountain tundra terrain.

NOTE: clear skies and solar activity are the critical conditions to watch Aurora Borealis, best timing is from 10:00 pm till 2:00 am.

6 best hints for a successful Northern Lights Viewing Tour

There can be a bit of confusion on how to set off in search of Aurora Borealis, because weather is unstable, viewing is unpredictable and so much depends on the solar activity. In fact, there are just a few simple rules.

1. Be at the North. For instance, Trondheim (Norway) is not north enough for good viewing.

2. Too short visit to see the lights. It means: forget an idea of 1-2 days trip. Spend at least 3-4 days at one location.

3. Pick the best season, which is basically any time from end of September till mid April.

4. The right clothing. Take the North seriously. Even in October.

5. Pick the best location. You need a place between a lake and mountains, the clouds have a tendency of pulling apart, if perhaps just briefly, even during the worst of weather.

6. Plan other activities. Fill your days with other fun activities (husky dog sledding, reindeer sleigh, snowmobiling, ice fishing, Russian Banya, so that even if you have terrible luck with the Northern Lights you’ll still have had an amazing time.

7. KP Index: pro and contra Global planetary geomagnetic activity index. The K-index is a three-hour quasi-arrhythmic local geomagnetic activity index with respect to the calm day curve for a given location. The Kp-index measures the deviation of the most disturbed horizontal component of the magnetic field at stationary stations around the world from their own local K-indices. The global Kp index is then determined by an algorithm that combines the average values of each station. The Kp index ranges from 0 to 9, where 0 means no geomagnetic activity and 9 means extreme geomagnetic storm. MIND that the forecasts given by tourist sites and applications is a Russian roulette game. Even if the KP level is 9, in the presence of clouds, you will not see anything. For us, as for the implementers on the spot, the weather forecast is more important rather than the level of magnetic disturbances. In addition to the CD index, on which everyone goes crazy, there are still a number of important physical factors, such as flow rate, flow density, perturbation level, etc. If these parameters are unsatisfactory, the glow will also be like this, or not at all.