The clearest Northern Lights sky in Scandinavia — a national park lake at the foot of the Lapland mountains
Abisko is a small village — effectively a rail halt and national park entrance — in Swedish Lapland, 200km north of the Arctic Circle, that has earned a reputation as the single best place in Scandinavia for Northern Lights viewing. The Torneträsk lake creates a reliable gap in the cloud cover that accumulates over the Norwegian coast — Abisko sits in a microclimate shelter that gives statistically clearer skies than anywhere else in the region. The Aurora Sky Station, accessed by chairlift, operates above the cloud layer for near-guaranteed views in season. Abisko National Park is also the n…
Abisko came to European scientific attention in the early 20th century when the Swedish Lapland Research Station was established there in 1903 — one of the earliest high-latitude research stations in the world. The Malmbanan railway reached Abisko in 1902, making this remote Arctic landscape accessible. The national park was established in 1909. The area is traditional Sami territory — the Sami name Ábeskoeatnu refers to the river (Abiskojokka) that flows through the park into Torneträsk. The Aurora Sky Station was built in 1991 and has become one of the most-visited Northern Lights facilitie…