Iceland is one of those unique places that has an attraction that people fly to the country with the sole purpose of seeing. Amidst the Instagram photos of black sand beaches and the cold expanse of the North Atlantic Ocean you're peppered with dazzling green photos interspersed with shots of pink and purple. In the old days the Nordic men thought that this natural wonder was the Gods speaking to them. They are of course, the Northern Lights.
I know just before setting off on our trip to Iceland at the beginning of February that I went with a lot of negativity. I'd had a horrendous week and I couldn't help but feel like this this would carry on into my trip. Therefore to me seeing the Northern Lights would be a distant want, something I'd be dying to see but would come to Iceland and miss the one thing we were going there for. How wrong I was.
On the first night, after driving around the narrow streets of Reykjavik with snow piled high on either side of the road and big dips near the curbs the car would casually slide down, we decided we would increase our chances of seeing the lights and set off immediately. When you mention to someone that you're travelling to Iceland tips and tricks are thrown around as to the best way to see the lights. Some people tell you to drive as far as you can into the country and wait, others tell you to jump on a boat with lots of other people and stand in the freezing ocean until everyone decides they've has enough and goes home. The problem with finding the lights is that something different seems to work for everyone, meaning it's very difficult to pin point the useful tips and what just spreads like Chinese whispers.
That night we chose to go to the Grotta Island Lighthouse, a popular place to see the Northern Lights. It's incredibly easy to drive to from Reykjavik with it only being about a 12 minute trip from the Hallgrimskirkja Church. When we went it was impossible to reach the actually lighthouse as the water was so high, but personally I wouldn't recommend it. It's just far enough away from Reykjavik that there is minimal light pollution when facing away from the city and nothing to obstruct the sky. As we'd travelled very early in the morning that day we didn't last long, only staying for an hour or so before sneaking back to the city with our tails between our legs.
The next night we tried was our last night. Only being in Iceland for three nights it seemed imperative that we tried the last night, even if it would be futile. This ended up being a disorganised mess. We had researched the best places to see the Northern Lights and with a strong aversion to wanting to be stuck on a boat for hours we opted to drive around places near Reykjavik with the least amount of light pollution. This means we ended up driving to as many golf courses as we could find, believing that their grassy expanse would offer us the elusive lack of light we were looking for. The first gold course ended up being a massive dud, with floodlights bordering the entire parkland. However, the second golf course happened to be the one next to the Grotto Lighthouse where we had gone our first night. If you take the southern road when heading to the lighthouse you'll follow a small road which reaches the driving range. This is arguably a much better place with less light pollution and much less people.
On our way there we'd only driven up halfway up the road before we saw some pale green lights in the distance. There were incredibly dim so for a while we wondered if we were looking at a stray cloud of if they were indeed the Northern Lights. The one way that made us certain is how they moved in the sky, growing larger and then fading with each breath. For the next two hours we took long exposure shots on our GoPros, fully convinced this was it. How wrong we were.
After a few hours we decided to head home. Two minutes down the path and one of us in the car shouted us to get out. Upon doing so we saw the Northern Lights shoot across the sky directly above us. A strong green glow with pinks and purples rippling in the centre. Apparently it was the strongest the Northern Lights had been in Reykjavik all year.
On our way there we'd only driven up halfway up the road before we saw some pale green lights in the distance. There were incredibly dim so for a while we wondered if we were looking at a stray cloud of if they were indeed the Northern Lights. The one way that made us certain is how they moved in the sky, growing larger and then fading with each breath. For the next two hours we took long exposure shots on our GoPros, fully convinced this was it. How wrong we were.
After a few hours we decided to head home. Two minutes down the path and one of us in the car shouted us to get out. Upon doing so we saw the Northern Lights shoot across the sky directly above us. A strong green glow with pinks and purples rippling in the centre. Apparently it was the strongest the Northern Lights had been in Reykjavik all year.
So to recap, the best tips I could possibly give you are:
- Find a place away from the city with the least amount of light pollution possible.
- Hire a car so you can decide when and where you want to go. There's no fun in being stuck in the middle of the ocean at midnight for hours until everyone unanimously decides to give up.
- Bring plenty of snacks and hot drinks. I really believe a canister of hot chocolate saved my life.
- Use the Aurora Borealis app which you can download here.
- Take a GoPro if you want to capture those amazing long-exposure shots.
If you have any additional tips feel free to throw them my way!
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