Amazing autumn colors
ruska tunturi

Amazing autumn colors

Autumn colours and northern lights will colour up the autumn in Levi
What do the Northern Lights sound like? What does the rich spectrum of autumn colours look like on the fells and in the forests in the North? Did you know that In Lapland, you can see The Northern Lights as early as late August?

In early September, after the first nights of below zero temperatures, the nature starts to get ready for the winter. Leaves in the trees are getting colourful, and you can see beautiful yellow, orange and red colours all around you. 

MESMERIZED BY THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

When the days are getting shorter and nights darker it is time to slow down, breathe the fresh air - and have a look at the sky!

The Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis - are an unpredictable, natural event, which occurs all year round. Because you need nightfall to spot them, the Northern Lights begin to appear around the end of August, when the nights get darker. You can see them as late as in April.

The magical Northern Lights on a dark night sky have intrigued people for long. According to old Finnish beliefs the reason for these colourful night sky lights was the mythical Firefox who was running across the Arctic Lapland. People believed that this giant fox in the sky created the Northern Lights by moving its tail. This is why in Finnish the Northern Lights are called “Revontulet” i.e., foxfires.

Stories about Northern Lights are also well known in other cultures and many beliefs still live strong - health, wealth, good luck, love and many other good things will come to those who see the Northern Lights.

The determining factors of this amazing phenomenon are the geomagnetic and the solar activities. The Auroras become brighter and more distinctive after intense sunspot activities. The solar activity occurs on a 22-year cycle (it increases for 11 years and decreases during another 11 years).

In scientific terms auroras are produced when the particles from solar winds and magnetospheric plasma meet the upper atmosphere - energy is lost and the resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emits light of varying colour and complexity. The possibility to see Northern Lights grows the farther you travel from the Equator. 

Terhi Tuovinen

AURORAS IN LEVI

The Northern Lights in Levi are breathtakingly beautiful. The Aurora season in Levi starts at the end of August and lasts until April. In Levi, the annual average of Aurora Borealis sightings is 200. 

The Aurora lights never look the same and the intensity of their display varies not just from night to night but also throughout the night. They can last for just a few minutes or for several hours. At their best, the Northern Lights shine a dazzling display of intense green, blue, red, and violet colours.

During the darkest winter months, we have often seen the Aurora lights as early as 17.00. From our experience, the Northern Lights display seems to be at its best between 20.00-1.00. Obviously in April, when the days are already long, you can see the Northern Lights at their best only later at night.

To be able to see/photograph the Aurora Borealis, the sky needs to be clear, and you need to be away from artificial lights (street and building lights) disturbing the view.

MAKE MEMORIES FOR A LIFETIME

We offer a wide selection of activities and trips for you to catch this magnificent natural phenomenon. Hop on horseback and go hunt the northern lights, go canoeing or for a hike under the northern lights.

How about a ferry cruise under the Northern Lights? The reflections of the Lights on the surface of the water are truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Already in autumn, it is possible to book a guided trip into the nature, away from the artificial lights of the Levi centre. The guide will teach how to distinguish the bright stars and with good luck you will spot the Lights. If you are interested in photography a professional photographer can teach you how to shoot wonderful images and lasting memories of the auroras with your own camera. As the winter approaches and the land freezes up and is covered in snow, a wider range of Northern Lights excursions become available.

NORTHERN LIGHTS ACCOMMODATIONS

Levi also offers a wide range of accommodation options designed to allow you to observe the sky and the Northern Lights before you go to sleep and when you open your eyes in the morning.