Auroras – Northern Lights – Rovaniemi

We head to a private, light-pollution-free location with open northern views. While waiting for the lights, relax in a warm tepee by the open fire, enjoy light snacks, and soak in the silence of the Arctic night. Your professional guide will take high-quality photos of you during the program, whether the Northern Lights appear or not, ensuring you always leave with memorable keepsakes and added value from your Arctic experience.

The experience concludes at our cosy Wilderness Lodge, where your guide shares more about the Northern Lights and Lappish culture.

At the lodge, you’ll also have access to proper indoor restroom facilities and the lodge offers snacks and drinks for purchase, along with local handicrafts, postcards and selected lodge products, perfect as memorable keepsakes or gifts.

If the Northern Lights do not appear, you may join the tour once again free of charge within the following two weeks, subject to availability.

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Why Our Northern Lights Experience Is Different

Award-winning photographer Donald Burghardt has joined Lapland Welcome's Northern Lights excursions for nearly 15 years, spending more than 120 nights under Arctic skies.

"After hundreds of Northern Lights evenings with Lapland Welcome, I can confidently say that this is one of the most thoughtfully designed aurora experiences available."

Rather than focusing on long-distance "aurora chasing," Lapland Welcome has invested in something far more valuable: an exceptional viewing location. Our private hilltop offers panoramic views across approximately 8,000 km² of Arctic landscape, with an unobstructed horizon stretching up to 70 km in every direction. Elevated above the surrounding terrain, guests enjoy a remarkably wide view of the sky, creating ideal conditions for observing and photographing the Northern Lights.

The hill also benefits from a unique local micro-climate that can occasionally provide clearer viewing conditions than lower-lying areas. While no operator can control the weather, our location maximizes the opportunity to see as much of the sky as possible.

It's also important to understand how the Northern Lights actually work. Auroras typically occur at altitudes between 80 and 350 km above the Earth's surface. Because they are so high, they are visible across vast distances, often hundreds of kilometres away. In many cases, driving long distances in pursuit of the lights provides little advantage, as the auroral display itself is constantly moving and changing. What matters most is having a clear view of the sky and being in the right place when the conditions align.

For this reason, we focus on providing a comfortable, environmentally responsible experience rather than spending hours driving in search of uncertain weather gaps. Extensive driving not only increases environmental impact but also reduces the time spent enjoying the Arctic night itself.

Even on evenings when auroral activity is low or cloud cover is significant, the experience remains memorable. Under certain conditions, cloud layers illuminated by strong auroral activity can even appear green in photographs, a fascinating phenomenon in its own right?

Our Northern Lights evenings are designed to be enjoyable regardless of nature's unpredictability. Guests can relax, take in the Arctic scenery, enjoy warm refreshments, and make use of on-site facilities, including restroom access at the base of the hill, comforts that are rarely available at remote roadside viewing locations.

The Northern Lights can never be guaranteed. What we can guarantee is that you will experience them from one of the region's most carefully selected viewing locations, with knowledgeable guides, excellent amenities, and a realistic, sustainable approach based on decades of Arctic experience.