Chasing the Midnight Sun in Norway

It feels like noon, but it’s really 2 AM–it’s unbelievable but easily verified by glancing at my watch. For an insomniac like me, who often stays awake for inordinate stretches of time, I don’t feel the pressure or guilt of those intrusive ‘I should be asleep’ thoughts. This is heaven.

Actually, this is Norway.

The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon that occurs during summer in places south of the Antarctic Circle and north of the Arctic Circle – including Northern Norway. At midnight, the sun will hover low in the sky and throw its golden rays all across the coastline and mountains, bathing villages and towns in a sort of gilded light. The sun dips but never sets and the result is pure magic.

I am in Tromsø, the largest city in northern Norway known as a prime vantage point for viewing both the Northern Lights and the midnight sun. It has long been considered a cultural hub in the Arctic Circle. From the Tromsø Cable Car, I swallow my fear of heights and bask in the beauty of my surroundings as I ascend 1,381 feet in the air in the city that is also known as “the gateway to the Arctic”. To allow passengers the joy of experiencing this natural phenomenon, the cable car runs well after midnight during the summer and from the mountain ledge Storsteinen, I can see the glowing city and the peaks of Ringvassøya Island below. Easily moved by the sights and experiences of travel, I’m awash in a flood of indescribable emotions–this is why I will never stop traveling.

The earth is rotating at a tilted axis relative to the sun, and during the summer months, the North Pole is angled towards our star. That’s why, for several weeks, the sun never sets above the Arctic Circle.

– from Visit Norway

TALK NERDY TO ME: A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION

The earth orbits the sun on a plane called an ecliptic. The earth’s equator is inclined with the ecliptic by 23°26′. As a result, the North and South poles are, in turn, inclined toward the Sun for 6 months. Close to the summer solstice, on June 21, the Northern Hemisphere reaches its maximum inclination toward the sun and the sun illuminates all the polar area down to latitude +66°34′.

As seen from the polar area, the sun does not set, but only reaches its lowest altitude at midnight. Latitude +66°34′ defines the Arctic Circle (southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere where the midnight sun can be seen).

*Information provided by TripSavvy

BEST LOCATIONS TO EXPERIENCE THE MIDNIGHT SUN

• Longyearbyen (Spitsbergen): Apr 20 – Aug 20
• North Cape (Nordkapp): May 14 – July 30
• Hammerfest: May 16 – July 27
• Tromsø, Hausberg: May 20 – July 22
• Narvik, Hausberg: May 25 – July 18
• Lofoten & Vesterålen: Late May – Mid July
• Bodø: July 4 – July 8

CAN’T SLEEP?

In Norway and Greenland, residents seem to naturally adjust to the seasonal changes and generally require less sleep. If you’re not an insomniac like me (aka you’re a normal person) and find it incredibly hard to sleep during midnight sun season, try to create a calming environment by darkening the room by covering bare windows or wearing an eye mask to bed. (If you are staying in a rental or Airbnb, inquire if black-out curtains are available when booking your stay.)