“Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder”, a saying that is ever prevalent even in today’s world. Hence, none is better than the gorgeous wonders beheld by Mother Nature herself.

One of those stunning sights is Aurora Borealis or the Northern Lights. Any travelling fanatic has undoubtedly heard about this extraordinary phenomenon.

What is it, you ask? Well, let’s find out!

What is Aurora Borealis?

It is a natural display of light seen across the earth sky at high altitude places and regions. Also, known as Polar lights, it is indeed a wonder to behold.

This is a a collision of electrical particles emitted from the sun which enters the atmosphere of earth. These lights are seen mainly above the magnetic poles of the two hemispheres of the planet. These lights seen in the northern hemisphere is called Aurora Borealis.

This unique spectacle occurs in a space called ‘auroral zone’. It is a region which covers from 3 to 6 degrees in latitude and 10 to 20 degrees in longitudes. A clear night sky is best for seeing these lights. The word Aurora is derived from a Latin translation, which means ‘dawn’ or ‘morning light’. Hence, Aurora’s at first was though as the first light of dawn.

These lights show many shades of colours giving you a beautiful spectacle to watch as they dance with stars. The night sky shows tints of red, green, violet and many more. The lights appear in scattered form or as cloud patches.

Intriguing, is it not? Want to see them? Don’t know which place to visit to look at them?

Well, here they are!

Best Places to see the Northern lights:

• Kakslauttanen, Finland

Located in the Finnish Lapland, an artic resort there allows you to gaze at these dancing lights from the comfort of your glass igloos or traditional log cabin. By chance, if you are not able to look at these lights, there are other ample sights you can visit or activities you can do.  

• Reykjavik, Iceland

This place is one of the most accessible and affordable places to look at the Northern lights from. It is gaining popularity very quickly not only for the views but also because of the sites of the famous TV show ‘Game of Thrones’.

• Northern Canada

This maybe a far costlier place to visit compared to the rest around, but the Aurora Oval covers most of the country. Thus, making it easier to see this stunning display of lights from various locations with extreme ease of access.

• Jukkasjarvi, Sweden

The small city cum village is the home to the country’s first ice hotel. Hence, enabling you to see these lights with a life-changing experience.

Here are only a few of the places from where you can get a clear view of this extraordinary sight, that is Aurora Borealis.

Well, what are you waiting for? Get up and go on a magical journey to experience the beauty of these lights!