Northern lights Expeditions to Norway.

The Northern Lights from Ravnastua, Norway. Taken on one of my trips.

Next Workshop: Arctic Norway and the Northern Lights 20-26th January 2012 Only 2 places left. 26th Jan to 1st feb (Sold Out). Price Including Food and Accommodation but excluding flights to Tromso, £980 GBP per person.

Every year I run small expeditions to Norway. These trips have proved to be so popular that I have had to turn people away most years and many people come back year after year.

These are magical experiences of a lifetime.

The first day is the arrival day. You must make your own way to Tromso in Northern Norway. You will be met at the airport and taken to a nice hotel nearby. If the weather conditions are good then we will spend the evening watching the Northern Lights.

The Northern Lights Highway.

Day 2 we have an early start to make the long but interesting drive along the “Northern Lights Highway” across the very top of Finland and back into Norway. This journey takes us through some of the coldest parts of Europe where deep snow and temperatures below -20c are normal. At about 3pm we will arrive just outside the small town of Karasjok.

One of the snow scooters. Note that we normally use sledges as well.

Here we exchange our mini-bus for snow scooters as we prepare to head off into the remote Arctic wilderness. After a 60 minute (20km) snow scooter ride up through a beautiful snow covered forest, up beyond the tree line and across frozen lakes we will come to a group of small huts a a place called Ravnastua.

 

The group of cabins at Ravnastua.

This is a magical place, far from the stresses of our modern lives where life is simple, the air is clear and fresh and the scenery breath taking. After a hearty diner of local food in the communal dining hut we will spend the evening watching out for “Thor’s Chariots” or the Northern Lights.

The Northern Lights over the cabins at Ravnastua.

Day 3 is spent exploring the local area by snow scooter. We often encounter Reindeer herds and husky dog teams. I run video and stills photography workshops during the short day. Sunrise is at 9am, sunset around 2pm. Our accommodation in the cabins is shared, 4 beds to a room. Heating is from a log stove. Toilets are basic as it is too cold for running water (it can get down to -36c). But it’s comfortable and the atmosphere in the evenings is social and highly enjoyable sitting around the log burner enjoying our host Oskars local stories. Ravnastua was chosen as the final destination due to it’s mountain location. The locals say that when the temperature gets down to -20c then the sky will be clear. Our experience is that this is indeed true and every year we have seen the Aurora from this location.

The Northern Lights just after sunset.

Day 4 will be spent further exploring the local area, possibly with an excursion to Karasjok or Alta. Again the evening is spent watching for the Northern Lights.

Reindeer Herds near the cabins.

Day 5 is another early start as we depart the cabins by snow scooter and head back down the valley to collect the mini-bus. We now start the drive back to Tromso, only this time we will travel back via Alta passing along frozen rivers and taking the coastal route crossing two fjords by ferry. Along the way we will stop for photos by some of the lakes and fjords that are common along this route. We also cross one of the highest mountain passes in Norway and this can be an adventure in itself as the weather can be quite extreme across the tops of the mountains. We spend the night in Tromso and if the sky is clear we will find interesting vantage points to view the Northern Lights.

Day6 is departure day. You will be dropped at the airport for your flight home.

The 2010 group. It was -36c when this picture was taken!

Beautiful Ice-Scapes will be found everywhere.

Wood piles around the camp covered in deep snow.

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