​Nature preparing itself for the winter – colourful autumn is the best time for Northern Lights and hiking!

After a really warm summer the nature is getting prepared for the coming winter. The green colours are turning into yellow and red before the leafs are falling down and the crispy mornings are here. At the same time many of the birds are moving back to south, so that they can return in the spring time again. Here in Lapland we are so lucky to see the changes of the seasons, and to see how the nature knows what is
coming. The first frost in the berry leafs is a promise of the new winter and by the mid October we have
surely got the first snow and lakes are getting the icy cover. Autumn is short period but so beautiful!

One of the most asked questions is ”when do you see the northern lights”. During the last two weeks we have had some really nice northern lights, even with temperatures as high as +15 degrees celcius. So it doesn´t need to be really cold to see the auroras, but we need to have a clear sky. The northern lights are coming almoust every night, some nights not so big and colourful, and some nights its a big show, starting from the northern sky and spreading all over the sky. Even the most famous aurora photographers don´t see them every time in the full strength, and you can never predict so well (yes there are some forecasts which tells about the sun activity, but don´t trust only in the forecasts!), how this night is going to act with this nature phenomenon. That is excatly what makes it so interesting about the whole northern lights. You don´t really know when they are coming, how long they will last, and if they dissappear, are they coming back or not; maybe in 5 minutes or fading down just a little bit, and in a few minutes coming back even stronger. The only way to see the really beautiful ones is to be outside and cross your fingers that you are the lucky one to see the most beautiful northern lights, revontulet, the fox fires as we finns are naming it. The name comes from a sami story about a fox wagging its tail on the pure crispy snow.

So there is no right time to come to see the northern lights, but if we think about when the sky is the most clear, it is usually October. In January-February it´s quite often snowing, so that time of the winter is not so ideal for the aurora hunting. Get a big thermos of hot chocolate, good warm winter clothes and take yourself on a good spot to see the auroras. Or just sit into the outdoor jacuzzi with a glass of prosecco and look at the sky. L7 is far away from the light pollution and nothing will disturb your arctic moments.