Abisko In November: Snow and Aurora in Swedish Lapland.

Abisko in November?

 

Abisko in November: Snow and Aurora in Swedish Lapland.

Abisko National Park sits 200 kilometres inside the Arctic Circle in Sweden, on the edge of Lake Torneträsk, surrounded by mountains. It’s a beautiful place in a spectacular location, and I’m living here!

Well, living here for the winter!

Work has brought us to this northerly spot, deep in Swedish Lapland. Chris has started a new job as an aurora photography guide for a company called Lights Over Lapland and I’ve tagged along.

I had to, he’s driven our truck camper up here to live in!

We’re living in Abisko Östra, a village on the edge of the national park: a little cluster of houses next to a vast lake.

Abisko Nov

Abisko is one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights.

It is perfectly situated right under the aurora oval and if skies are clear then the night sky fills with magical lights.

And the skies are usually clear, the surrounding mountains and Lake Torneträsk see to that!

Abisko NovWe’ve only been here for two weeks, since the middle of November, and already we’ve seen some spectacular displays.

Sometimes it has been a bright green arch curving across the sky while other times it has been playful, dancing lightly against a backdrop of stars.

It’s happening on my four-wheeled doorstep – a doorstep that’s slowly being consumed by snow – almost every day.

Almost. Every. Single. Day.

And if that’s not amazing enough, the world surrounding us is transforming into a winter wonderland of the most beautiful kind.

The most delicate frost clings to branches; snow has obscured the landscape, blurring it into perfect whiteness.

The lake is slowly freezing and at the fringes ice takes on amazing forms. 

The arctic light is extraordinary.

I spent one evening drinking lingonberry tea inside a cosy Sami hut, sharing stories over an open fire.

Snow fell gently outside as we waited for the snow clouds to pass, waiting patiently for the aurora!  

Another night, another fine show of lights. This time from a hilltop viewpoint above nearby Björkliden.

The landscape was illuminated by the waxing supermoon, and the aurora swirled over our heads.

Just the other day, I walked down to the lake with a visiting friend.

The aurora was going crazy, smudged by the clouds, it danced and filled the sky with colour and light.

We stood on the waterside, gazing up in awe!

This promises to be a winter of epic proportions!

If you are reading this post because you are wondering whether to visit Abisko in November, you can see that the aurora certainly doesn’t hold back! There isn’t enough snow for most of the winter activities you might wish to do (such as dog-sledding and snowmobiling) but you benefit from a few hours of glorious daylight, before the sun disappears in mid December and there is something special about seeing the aurora reflected in the lake –it will be frozen over soon, a vast sheet of ice. Plus you can hike and explore the national park on foot.

How:

There are two trains a day from Stockholm to Abisko in each direction, one of which is a night train. The line continues to Narvik, Norway.

The nearest airport is 100 km away in Kiruna where there are flights to/from Stockholm.

The temperatures since I have been here (the last two weeks of Nov) have ranged from +2ºc to -12ºc. 

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Abisko in November? See the Northern Lights in Swedish Lapland

Try these posts:

I’m Moving To Sweden! (Just For The Winter) All the prep and excitement for the winter ahead!

The Northern Lights in Yorkshire That time I saw the aurora from a Yorkshire hillside.

Semlor: Swedish Almond Cream Buns these Lent buns are delicious!

Beautiful Frozen Helsinki Returning to Helsinki at -25º, incredible!

Stockholm Travelling from Copenhagen to Finland via Sweden’s gorgeous capital.

By Rachel A Davis   Follow on Bloglovin

Have you been to Abisko? Can you imagine seeing the Northern Lights almost every day?

 

2 Responses

  1. Mathieu says:

    Hi,

    Thanks for the article and congratulations for your magnificent photos. Just to make sure, do you confirm that in November, the lake hasn’t frozen (yet) ? I’m considering going to Abisko on a NL hunt between November 2 and 6-7, but the chance of seeing a reflection on the lake is an important factor (otherwise I’ll just postpone my trip to next year).

    Thanks in advance !

    • Rachel Davis says:

      Hi Mathieu,
      Sorry for the late reply.Lake Torneträsk should not be frozen in early November, it’s a good time to visit if you want beautiful reflections! It didn’t freeze until beginning of February this year, however that was unseasonably late.

      Enjoy your trip up to Abisko, I’ll be heading back there a little later in November.