We've all seen photos of the famous Northern Lights, where the sky is lit up in a haze of greens and purples. But seeing the phenomenon in the dark skies of Iceland with you own eyes is on another level. Anna, a local guide, explains, “No two nights are ever the same. Sometimes the lights appear as a soft glow on the horizon, and other nights they dance right across the sky. Their unpredictable mood is part of their magic.”
The trick to seeing the aurora borealis – which roughly translates to ‘northern dawn' – is getting out of the cities to reach clear, dark skies. You'll take a nighttime coach trip out of Reykjavik to escape the light pollution. There's never a guarantee of seeing the lights, but your guide monitors the weather and patterns to give you the best chance of a sighting. And, if Mother Nature isn't playing on the day of your booking, you may get a second chance on another northern lights tour later in your stay or try a midnight sun tour if the lights are fading towards the end of April.
There's so much more to this trip than simply staring at the colours swirling above. As you scan the skies, your guide will share some of the folklore and legends that surround the northern lights. Get ready for tales of hidden spirits, childbirth superstitions and Viking warriors. Anna adds, “nobody is immune to the sense of mystery and awe that these ribbons of light cast.”
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