DANCERS OF THE NORTHERN NIGHT
Canada’s Northwest Territories offers the world’s best Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) viewing experience. Along with the chance to see nature’s most spectacular light show, there’s plenty more to keep you enthralled when you explore the Far North
“I was told it represents the spirits from the other world. Particularly when somebody close to you has passed on. When the Northern Lights are very vibrant and they’re dancing, they’re sending the message back to you, saying, ‘Everything is okay… You continue to do well in your life over there. We’re going to meet again one day soon, but there’s no need to be sad anymore’. The dancing represents that… It’s incredible to get that feeling while watching them.” – Joe Bailey, a Dene man of the Northwest Territories (‘Denendeh’, to the Dene people), explains the cultural significance of the Northern Lights.
A true natural wonder
The Northwest Territories (NWT) is located in what is known as an “auroral oval” (where the aurora displays most strongly). This is a band around the earth that has been ‘pushed’ by strong solar winds toward the dark (night) side of our planet. That solar wind disrupts the earth’s magnetosphere enough that particles from the wind and plasma of the magnetosphere ionise after precipitating in the upper atmosphere. The result is that brilliant, varying emission of light in the sky, depending on how much oxygen and/or nitrogen is in the atmosphere (the aurora’s greens are courtesy of oxygen; the vibrant pinks due to a large amount of nitrogen). Photographs capture it well, but nothing beats being there physically as the aurora dances above you in the sky.
A tale of two seasons
Autumn (around mid-August until the start of October) offers visitors the chance to undertake other activities, such as hiking, wildlife-viewing, boat tours and fishing, while they’re in the NWT. Daylight hours can be spent exploring Yellowknife itself before evening/night aurora viewing.
From December until late March, winter offers a contrasting snow-clad landscape, with frozen lakes, and the promise of a breathtaking light-show in the sky most nights. Winter activities include dog-sledding, ice-fishing, driving on ice roads, snowshoeing and exploring frozen waterways using XC skis, ice skates, snowmobiles or fat-bikes, with local guides. In both seasons, local guides offer city tours of Yellowknife, with warm protective clothing rental for the sub-zero aurora viewing nights.