Northern Lights in Greenland

While Greenland’s polar bears are hibernating in the winter months, it’s the magical northern lights that instead come out to play. With minimal ambient light from the island’s tiny towns and settlements, searching for the northern lights often means just stepping outside the door.

Ancient legend passed down by the Inuit people of Greenland says that the northern lights are the spirits of the dead playing football with a walrus skull. Whatever the reason, witness the astonishing spectacle in Greenland’s only inland town, Kangerlussuaq, which boasts 300 nights of clear sky a year, or travel to UNESCO-listed Ilulissat, where the northern lights swirl over icebergs as tall as skyscrapers. Located 200 miles north of the Arctic Circle, the chances of seeing nature’s greatest light show here are extremely high.

Image copyright Paul Zizka – Visit Greenland

Holidays

Specialist Knowledge

I've found that one of the best places to see the northern lights in western Greenland is Kangerlussuaq, a town perched on the edge of a fjord. Ask your guides about Greenland's sagas about the aurora.

Jane Slade

Don snow shoes and a headlamp in Ilulissat for a guided walk into the surrounding wilderness. The sight of the northern lights illuminating the snow-covered landscape is truly magical.

Shane Hosiene

Greenland is one of the best and most under-rated places to see the northern lights – huge, dark skies and complete silence. Perfection.

Andrea Godfrey