Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Reykjavík
Easy viewing for visitors to the capital; boats depart from the old harbour right
downtown.
SEEING THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
The Inuit thought they were the souls of the dead; Scandinavian folklore described them
as the spirits of unmarried women; and the Japanese believed that a child conceived un-
der the dancing rays would be fortunate in life. Modern science, however, has a different
take on the aurora borealis.
The magical curtains of colour that streak across the northern night sky are the result
of solar wind - a stream of particles from the sun that collides with oxygen, nitrogen and
hydrogen in the upper atmosphere. These collisions produce the haunting greens and
magentas as the earth's magnetic field draws the wind towards the polar regions.
Catching your own glimpse of the Northern Lights requires nothing more than a dark,
partly clear night (ie, few clouds) and a pinch of luck. It's as simple as that.
In recent years many tour companies have been offering pricey 'Northern Lights safar-
is' - they are essentially taking you to an area with little or no light pollution to increase
your viewing odds. You can easily do this yourself, by booking a few nights at a rural inn
and waiting for the light show in the evening. Many hotels offer viewing wake-up calls
should the lights appear in the middle of the night while you're asleep.
Recent winters have been excellent for Northern Lights, with viewings beginning in
September. And you don't always need to be outside a city to enjoy a show - in October
2013, with a strong aurora forecast and to maximise the visibility, Reykjavík city authorit-
ies shut down all street lights in a few neighbourhoods for a few hours!
Predicting the likelihood of an aurora is close to impossible, but there are various tools
and apps that report factors like solar activity and therefore the likelihood of seeing one in
the short term. The comprehensive website of the Icelandic Met Office details aurora
activity, cloud cover, sunlight and moonlight, in order to provide an aurora forecast (gen-
erally for the week ahead). Check it out at
http://en.vedur.is/weather/forecasts/aurora/.
Horse Riding
Horses are an integral part of Icelandic life; you'll see them all over the country. Many
farms around the country offer short rides - there are a handful of stables within a stone's
throw of Reykjavík. Figure from around Ikr6000/9000 for a one-/two-hour ride.
