Northern Lights: A Practical Travel Guide

An updated third edition of Bradt's practical guide to the best places to view the Northern Lights, the only guidebook that caters to the large number of people whose dream is to see the aurora borealis. Included is information on everything from how to photograph the aurora to what to wear, and how to understand northern lights forecasting, as well as the science behind the aurora and the auroral oval. Also detailed are the best locations from which the aurora can be viewed, covering, in Europe, Scandinavia, Lapland, Iceland and Greenland, and in North America, Canada and Alaska. In addition, the guide provides information on tour operators offering northern lights packages. New for this third edition is coverage of Ivalo / Inari (Nellim & Muotka) and Iso Sy te in Finland; in Sweden both the permanent and seasonal ice hotels, as well as Kiruna Town Hall; in Canada Blachford Lake; and in Iceland new accommodation options. The Northern Lights are one of the major tourist draws of the Arctic and sub-Arctic winter and the world's most spectacular natural phenomena, arguably the greatest light show you'll ever see.

Polly Evans is an award-winning journalist and author, specialising in travel to the Arctic and sub-Arctic. Her first experience of travelling in the far north came when she spent three months in Canada’s Yukon researching a narrative travel book about learning to drive sled dogs, Mad Dogs and an Englishwoman. During that trip, she saw the Northern Lights many times and noticed the ephemeral magic they evoked even in the hearts of hardened northerners. It was on a trip to Yellowknife in Canada’s Northwest Territories, however, that Polly saw the display that made her understand why this phenomenon has for so long been sought by so many. ’It lasted only 10 or 15 minutes, but was perhaps the most intense experience of beauty that I have ever known, ’ she says. In writing Bradt’s Northern Lights, Polly greatly enjoyed discovering the scientific facts and historical stories behind the aurora, as well as sharing her own practical knowledge of travel in northern lands.