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The northern lights

Let the Northern Lights remind you of the seemingly infinite beauty in Greenland. The best time to see the Northern Lights is on a dark, clear autumn or winter night.

THE DANCING NORTHERN LIGHTS

The dancing northern lights in the night sky are a sight for the gods which winter holidaymakers in Greenland will in all likelihood come to experience. From early autumn the night sky is regularly illuminated by the northern lights’ green glow.

It is a natural phenomenon that always causes excitement and wonder among those who have never seen it before.

SOURCE OF LEGEND AND SUPERSTITION

The Inuit people have also allowed themselves to wonder at the sight down through the ages, and the northern lights have often challenged the imagination.

A well-known legend relates that when the northern lights dance in the night sky, it means that the dead are playing football with a walrus skull.

Today certain groups think that children will be particularly intelligent if they are conceived in the magical glow of the northern lights.

"It is a natural phenomenon that always causes excitement and wonder among those who have never seen it before."

Package Tours

Icelandic Mountain Guides – Greenland Highlights

Greenland Adventures by Icelandic Mountain Guides

Greenland Highlights

This tour will introduce you to the Greenland Highlights; Ice and Icefjords, impressive glaciers, an insight in the Inuit way of life.

FROM $1,600
Greenland Tours: Northern Lights & Icebergs

Greenland Tours

Northern Lights & Icebergs

4 days in Ilulissat incl. dog sledding & Northern Lights tour

FROM €830
Greenland by Topas – Dog Sledding, Igloo Lodge and Northern Lights in Ilulissat

Greenland by Topas

Dog Sledding and Northern Lights in Ilulissat

Sled dogs are in their element under the frosty sky, crackling snow and fluttering Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) of the Greenlandic winter. Overnight stay in Igloo Lodge.

FROM €2,275
Greenland Travel: Winter adventure! Vacation in a snowy paradise

Greenland Travel

Winter adventure! Vacation in a snowy paradise

Sail on Ilulissat Ice Fjord and see the icebergs. Go dogsledding. See northern lights. Walk the Ice Cap. Go explore! Greenland is waiting

FROM €2,020
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AURORA BOREALIS IN GREENLAND

The northern lights – or Aurora Borealis as it is officially known – actually occur all year round, but cannot be seen during the summer months in Greenland due to the midnight sun.

The phenomenon is often seen around midnight and is best experienced on a dark, clear night in the period from September to the beginning of April.

If you are travelling during this period, you can see the northern lights from anywhere in the country, whilst in South Greenland the northern lights can be seen from as early as the end of August

FLICKERING MOLECULES AND PARTICLES

“The northern lights are a fascinating phenomenon caused by collisions between the sun’s electrically charged particles and molecules and atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere.

The spectacular light show takes place in the upper atmosphere at a height of approximately 100 kilometres (62 miles) and can best be compared to candles flickering in the wind or fluttering curtains in shades of green and yellow. Greenland is one of the best places in the world to observe the northern lights.

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Editors' pick

Diving into the Nuuk fjord as the sun is setting. Photo by Peter Lindstrom - Visit Greenland

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Disko Bay Steam in Ilulissat Ice Fjord. Photo - David Trood, Visit Greenland

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A glacier hiker on the Greenland Ice Sheet kicking up ice on a sunny day near Kangerlussuaq. Photo by Mads Pihl - Visit Greenland.

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Here is a list of things that you can find ONLY in Greenland and nowhere else in the world.

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Arctic hare in Ittoqqortoormiit. Photo by Bo Normander.

Beautiful hike in Ittoqqortoormiit in East Greenland

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The midnight sun Two hikers overlooking Nuuk in the midnight sun from the peak of Ukkusissaq - Store Malene in Greenland Glacier walking on the Greenland Ice Sheet near Kangerlussuaq, by Mads Pihl The Ice Sheet
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