Abisko National Park
Abisko National Park, which is located above the Arctic Circle in the far north of the Kiruna municipality is one of the first national parks in Sweden, and the whole of Europe. The Park was officially founded in 1909. Abisko National Park was originally created to protect the unique flora and fauna which can be found on the steep slopes of Mt. Noulja. In modern times, Abisko National Park is known for its microclimate and lack of precipitation that has given Abisko the reputation as the absolute best place on Earth to witness the northern lights. This lack of precipitation is created by a phenomenon known as the “blue hole” which creates a hole in the clouds directly above Abisko giving visitors a front row seat to the northern lights. Visitors from all over the world also come to the area to hike or ski the Kungsleden, which is consistently rated as one of the ten most beautiful hiking trails on Earth.
The park is relatively small and covers approximately 77 square kilometres with a large variety of landscapes, particularly when you consider the compact footprint of the National Park. Within Abisko National Park’s border, you can find soaring mountain peaks, free flowing rivers, deep canyons, stunning waterfalls, a beautiful sandy river delta, several lakes, including Lake Torneträsk which is Sweden’s 6th largest body of water. There is a large variety of fauna in the park including reindeer, wolverine and moose, a wide range of birds, rare flowers and lots of fantastic hiking trails to help you access the natural beauty of the National Park. While the northern lights are the main draw from September to March, the Midnight Sun entices travellers from all over the planet in the summer months.
Abisko is blessed with a solid tourist infrastructure, but it wasn’t always this way. As a matter of fact, up until 1984, the only way to reach the National Park was by rail as no roads went further north than Kiruna, which is approximately 100KM away. Once the road was constructed, the National Park became easier to reach and visitation numbers increased considerably. However, the local bus company only operated seasonally for summer hiking and winter skiing. In 2010, Lights Over Lapland was founded and played a larger role in putting Abisko on the map as a northern lights hot spot. As Lights Over Lapland grew, the founders of the company realised that the National Park needed a reliable, year round transportation option and started a new bus company called Visit Abisko. The foundation of a reliable transport option opened the flood gates and helped Abisko become the world’s premiere aurora watching destination.
Abisko National Park is also home to the longest running and most famous aurora webcam on earth – the Lights Over Lapland webcam. This webcam was installed in 2010 and has been capturing a still image of the sky every five minutes, non stop for more than a decade. In 2020, the webcam was upgraded with two additional real time, high definition feeds which broadcast HD video of the sky above Abisko National Park 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The array of webcams have helped solidify the fact that Abisko is the best place on Earth to see the northern lights and is viewed by millions of people all over the world every aurora season.
The Park is also home to the oldest and longest chair lift in Sweden which starts in the Abisko valley and slowly climbs Mt. Noulja to its end goal: the Aurora Sky Station. The Sky Station is a beautiful location and offers guests an opportunity to see the northern lights from the top of a mountain which is located inside of the aforementioned blue hole.
There are lots of great options for accommodation in the area, but there is only one hotel located within the physical boundary of Abisko National Park. This hotel is called the STF Abisko Turiststation. We can highly recommend a company called Accommodation In Abisko, which is a sister company to Lights Over Lapland. Accommodation in Abisko owns several properties ranging from a budget friendly hostel, all the way up to 100% private, fully detached homes with spectacular views of Abisko National Park.
And last but certainly not least, Lights Over Lapland is incredibly proud to participate in a brand new program that was recently created by the Swedish National Park service which creates a strong relationship between the governmental agency that operates the National Park with carefully selected companies who have shown a long term commitment to working closely with the National Park service. This program ensures that key players in Abisko help create an environment where activity providers follow all local rules, have all the necessary permits to operate in the National Park and act as good stewards for the park and its surroundings. We are incredibly proud to be one of the first companies to participate in this pilot program and look forward to a continued long term, mutually beneficial relationship with the Park Service and their fantastic team.
