The authors of the first standalone guide to Greenland explain how to see the iconic green hues for yourself.
Standing at night on the edge of Greenland’s ice sheet, there is nothing man-made for miles around. The only noise is that of the wind and your own breathing.
Tonight, the sky is not black, pierced by a million stars. Tonight the sky is a mesmerising display of colour. Sheets of green dance across the sky, towers of red smoke form and fade, a purple mist appears above you and then is gone. It may last hours, or only minutes, but your memory of watching the northern lights in Greenland will last forever.
An introduction to the northern lights in Greenland
Greenland is one of the best locations in the world for viewing the northern lights as they usually occur directly over the island, between latitudes 60° and 70°N.
Greenland is the world’s largest island but has a small population and very little light pollution. Even in the capital, it is possible to walk to the edges of the city and catch a glimpse of nature’s greatest light-show.
For more about the northern lights, as well as other in-depth travel information, see our guide to Greenland here:
What are the northern lights?
It is only in recent years that scientists have really begun to understand the northern lights.
The process starts when energised particles from the sun escape its gravitation field and create a solar wind that travels towards earth at around 800 km/sec. The number of escaping particles varies; periods of peak activity are called solar storms and these are the best times to see the northern lights in action.
The earth’s magnetic field protects us from most of the solar particles, but some are deflected towards the earth’s north and south poles. It is these deflected particles that penetrate our atmosphere and interact with the gases inside it. Each gas emits a different coloured light when heated by the solar particles – oxygen gives us a range from green to yellow, while nitrogen offers blues, purples and crimson. When oxygen is found very high in the atmosphere, it can also glow red and, very rarely, orange or white.
Consider yourself an expert Borealis seeker? Don’t miss our guide to the best places in the world to see the northern lights.
The northern lights in culture: Inuit stories
The northern lights have inspired, fascinated and frightened people for many centuries. Many Greenlandic legends have developed around this magical natural phenomenon, tales that are still passed down through generations even though the scientific cause behind the lights is now known.
According to popular legend, when the coloured lights are dancing in the sky, this means the dead are playing football with a walrus skull. Other tales suggest that the Aurora Borealis is made up of the spirits of children who died young and now spend their time dancing in the heavens. It is also believed that the whistling noise sometimes heard during a northern lights ‘show’ is the sound of ancestors trying to contact the living; don’t whistle back or you may be whisked away to join the dead!
Finally, in other cultures, legend has it that a child conceived under the glow of the northern lights will be exceptionally intelligent.
When is the best time to see the northern lights in Greenland?
Auroras occur throughout the year but the long dark nights of winter (from September to April) offer the best chance of seeing the northern lights. There are never any guarantees but you can increase your chances by being in Greenland during times of increased solar activity; this has an approximately eleven-year cycle.
From information gathered by the Parker Solar probe, NASA is predicting that solar activity will reach a peak in the current cycle during 2025. AuroraReach provides a forecast of northern light activity for all of Greenland’s larger towns. The forecast takes into account cloud cover and visibility, solar wind activity and the hours of darkness and daylight.
For more information about when to visit, see the GOV.UK Greenland travel advice.
Where is the best place to see the northern lights in Greenland?
It is possible to view the lights from almost anywhere in Greenland, but there are a few things to bear in mind to maximise your chances of a sighting. The Polar regions of the country have very long winter nights. In fact, in mid-winter, the sun never rises and the northern lights can be viewed at any time of day. Sisimiut has 8 days when the sun doesn’t rise while Ilulissat has 2 months of darkness. In the very north of Greenland, for example in Qaanaaq, seeing the northern lights becomes more difficult because you are too far north.
Cloud cover is also a factor. Kangerlussuaq enjoys over 300 clear days, so offers a very good chance of experiencing a cloudless night. Having said that, you’ll never have to venture far to escape light pollution and find a perfect night sky; no town in Greenland is large and many settlements are tiny.
The ultimate location for a perfectly dark sky is, of course, the National Park in North East Greenland. With no permanent population and all visits requiring a permit, this vast area must be one of the darkest places in the world; the park is larger than France and Germany combined.
For more information about where to visit, see our Greenland travel itinerary.
Special places to stay
There are a few places in Greenland where it is possible to see the northern lights from the comfort of your own room. Inuk Hostels is just a 20 minute walk from Nuuk centre but their glass-fronted Aurora cabin is set on its own platform, offering an uninterrupted view across the fjord.
On the outskirts of Ilulissat, Hotel Arctic claims to be the most northerly 4-star hotel in the world. All the rooms overlook the icefjord and Disko Bay, but the hotel also offers seven glass-roofed ‘igloo’ cabins. These unique accommodations are set on top of a cliff, allowing you to watch the northern lights while lying in your bed.
A little more off the beaten track at Qeqertarsuaq on Disko Island are the Beach Igloos. Set on a black-sand beach overlooking the bay, each igloo is a glass-and-wood hemisphere with a bed located on the mezzanine floor and a skylight through which you can watch the northern lights.
All over Greenland there are remote cabins where you can stay for as long as you wish and the only light pollution will be your own. In South Greenland, NTS Cabins and Tasermiut Camps are both good options. Set on the side of the 70km long Tasermiut Fjord, the views here are nothing short of spectacular.
Finally, we have Igloo Lodge. Located 15 kilometers into the backcountry of Ilulissat, this unique accommodation invites you to sleep in the middle of the sparkling Greenland winter fell, where the igloos are built from snow, as inuit have practiced through thousands of years.
How to see the northern lights in Greenland
There are a number of Greenlandic tour companies that offer winter tours where watching the northern lights is, with a little luck, part of the experience.
Hotel Sisimiut offers a wide range of winter trips to see the northern lights; you can ski, snowshoe or – for the less energetic – take a tracked all-terrain vehicle.
Disko Line Explorer in Ilulissat offer midnight sailing trips amongst the icefjord’s huge icebergs. Viewing the northern lights from the sea while enjoying a hot chocolate is a very special experience indeed.
In the winter (Nov–Apr) Albatros Arctic Circle in Ilulissat and Kangerlussuaq offer a choice of activities to see the northern lights including dog sledding with a musher, self-drive snowmobiling, icefjord boat trips and snowshoe hiking trips.
The team at Two Ravens offer gentle hiking trips from Nuuk where you can spend the night in a ‘tentsile’ – this is a tent slung between boulders that seems to hover above the ground. Take the trip in autumn or winter and you have a good chance of seeing the northern lights while you sit around your campfire.
In East Greenland, Sermilik Adventures, offer a three-day winter trip where travellers will use dog sleds to travel to an igloo and the tiny town of Tiniteqilaaq. In addition to exploring the area and witnessing the northern lights, you’ll be able take a full-day boat trip on the fjord. Expedition leaders Tobias and Line also offer excursions to see polar bears!
Greenland Travel offer a wide-range of winter trips. Among them is a five-day Aurora Borealis excursion based in Kangerlussuaq which takes visitors to the ice sheet, an ideal location for wildlife and northern lights spotting alike. You can find out more about the wildlife in Greenland here.
The Red House in Tasiilaq offers a photography trip (Feb–Mar) to see the northern lights, staying in their remote cabin. You might get in some ice fishing, ski-trekking and snowshoeing too.
The 8-day winter trip offered by Ilulissat Adventure is action packed, with a city tour, a snowshoe walk, a cruise among the icebergs in Disko Bay, hiking in the Eqip Sermia Fjord, snowmobile drives to the tiny settlement of Oqaatsut and into the wilderness to spend the night in an igloo, a dog-sled ride and some optional ice fishing. Lots of opportunities to see the northern lights!
Kiattua Camp is a luxurious camp in the wilderness somewhere south of Ilulissat. Accommodation is in teepee-like tents with heated beds and hot showers. Every visit is tailor-made and in winter you will have the opportunity to picnic under the northern lights.
How to photograph the northern lights in Greenland
Until recently, taking good photographs of the northern lights required sophisticated equipment, but today this can be done with most modern mobile phone cameras. The only piece of extra equipment that might come in handy is a tripod with a phone clamp; a little ‘Gorillapod’ is fine.
Don’t forget to turn the flash off and use the shutter timer – this gives time for the phone to be still after you have pressed the shutter button. If your phone has a ‘night’ or ‘fireworks’ mode, this is likely to produce the best results.
More information
Visit Greenland is owned by the Government of Greenland and is dedicated to marketing the country’s adventures and opportunities for guests wishing to visit the world’s largest island.
Air Greenland is the national flag carrier of Greenland, having operated flights in and to Greenland for almost 65 years. Air Greenland takes you to Greenland from Denmark, Iceland, and Nunavut in Northern Canada and also operates an extensive domestic flight network with more than 60 destinations.
For more information, check out our guide to Greenland.
