Sweden’s far north is cold and remote, the kind of place I love. I have long wanted to visit Swedish Lapland, and the city of Kiruna, 125 miles above the Arctic Circle. And now I’m here, feeling the crisp air on my cheeks. The snow-covered landscape of birch, pine and spruce trees paired with the undulations of the Scandinavian Mountains in the near distance is exactly how I’d pictured it.
Kiruna, which has a population of 23,000, and is home to the world’s largest iron ore mine. This has gathered headlines in recent years because its old town is being shifted 1.9 miles to the east due to subsidence.
Yet the city it is still comparatively undiscovered among Britons. Kiruna had around six per cent as many overnight stays by UK visitors in 2022 as Stockholm. But with sterling at an eight-year high against the Swedish krona, it’s a good time to visit.
In the summer, the city and its surrounds are ideal for escaping heatwaves and experiencing the midnight sun, while in autumn and winter it draws tourists who hope to catch the northern lights.
Kiruna sits within the auroral oval – an area of atmospheric activity surrounding the Earth’s geomagnetic North Pole – so clear skies and a bit of patience are often all that is needed to spot auroras between September and March. Visitors can also arrive via a 15-hour night train from Stockholm on which they might see auroras from the windows. The show is likely to start around six hours in as the train passes the city of Umeå.
As I arrive in Kiruna, though, the sky is thick with clouds. I drive two-and-a-half hours towards the locality of Gällivare to spend the night at the Sápmi Nature Camp. This land has been inhabited by Sámi people for 7,000 years and my host, Lennart Pittja, grew up here in a reindeer-herding family. Sámi are indigenous to Sweden (as well as neighbouring Norway, Finland and Russia’s Kola Peninsula) and their way of life, which is deeply connected to nature and the seasonal migration of reindeer, is intrinsic to the region.
“There are still traces of my ancestors’ lives here,” Pittja tells me over a dinner of cold-smoked trout, caught from the river just metres away. As with many indigenous peoples across the globe, the Sámi have lost access to land and traditions through colonialism and modernisation and storytellers such as Pittja help Sámi wisdom to endure.
“Sustainability is easy,” says Pittja. “If reindeer can graze on the land, we can also live here.”
Later, at Nutti Sámi Siida, an open-air exhibition with a reconstructed Sámi camp, just 15 minutes outside of Kiruna, I admire a handful of those reindeer. The magnificent creatures with big, soulful eyes and impressive sets of antlers are pawing through the snow to find tasty lichen and take little notice of me. It is just as well. My fingers are freezing in the -6°C air.
Thankfully, while glamping at Reindeer Lodge, my lávvu, a traditional Sámi tent, is warmed by a birch-burning stove.
That evening, I put my camera on a tripod. I can see telltale wisps in the sky – the auroras look faint to my eyes, but with a wide aperture and a slow shutter speed, they show up in dazzling shades of green and purple.
I had enjoyed an impromptu lesson in northern lights photography a few nights prior, when, shortly after finishing the first part of my four-course meal, Arctic Gourmet Cabin chef and host Johan Löfgren suggested I break to watch the show. “I’m sorry to interrupt, but you should really come outside now,” he urged.
With just two upscale cabins and a chef’s choice dinner service each night (my moose tenderloin with Amarone reduction was sublime), a stay at the cabin is a bit like visiting a wealthy friend’s guest house. “You’re the only one here tonight and we’re still at 50 per cent capacity,” Löfgren joked.
Later, I check into Camp Ripan in Kiruna, a collection of cabins and rooms with a sustainability focus: the restaurant ingredients are seasonal and as locally sourced as possible; it partners with eco-minded activity providers and heat from the kitchen is captured and routed to other areas of the building. It is also within walking distance of Kiruna’s old town.
An hour later, I photograph the lights with the help of Sámi photo guide Anette Niia.
I see auroras again the next night, right in the middle of Camp Ripan, when I inadvertently wake at 4.30am and notice the sky awash in a dancing white haze. I spend the next 45 minutes in knee-deep snow, watching the haze burst into vivid colour through my camera’s lens.
I’ve never felt so strong a connection to nature, nor a more urgent feeling of the importance of preserving our dark skies.
Getting there
Several airlines offer direct flights from the UK to Stockholm. From there, fly to Kiruna (1.5 hrs) or take a night train. Rail tickets can be booked with SJ. sj.se/en
Getting around
Kiruna is walkable and arranging transfers to and from town is possible, but you may wish to hire a car. Hertz has locations at Kiruna airport and railway station. hertz.com/p/car-rental/sweden/kiruna
Staying there
Sápmi Nature Camp has lávvu doubles from £375, half-board. sapminature.com
Camp Ripan has doubles from £110, including breakfast. ripan.se/en
Reindeer Lodge has lávvu doubles from £120, half-board. nutti.se/lodging-winter
Arctic Gourmet Cabin has cabins from £945, half-board. arcticgourmetcabin.com
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