Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel Norway (Laura Welsh)

Venture into the Arctic this winter at the northernmost city in the world. Alta, Norway hugs the rugged coastline of the Altafjord and is the gateway town for adventurers heading into the Finnmark Plateau, the cultural home of the Sami people.

Rock carvings from 7000 years ago have been found along the shoreline throughout the area showing the prehistoric reindeer herds of the stone age people who called this area home. There are scenes of hunting, fishing, and sailing in elaborate boats; activities that still draw tourists to the area.

In winter, the Polar Night of northern Norway, there are roughly six weeks when the sun does not peak above the horizon. However, the daytime hours are immersed in a perpetual twilight of magical bluish luminosity as the sun’s light reflects off the sky, sea and snow. The aurora borealis, or northern lights, also adds beautiful luminescent greens, blues and sometimes pinks to the dark night sky.

Each winter the Sorrisniva Arctic Wilderness Lodge along the Alta River builds the world’s northernmost igloo hotel from ice harvested in the valley upstream. Offering all kinds of Polar Night fun like snowmobiling, dog sledding and snowshoeing, the igloo hotel makes a luxuriously frigid home base for winter exploration.

Sorrisniva Igloo Hotel Norway (Laura Welsh)

Aurora in Alta Norway (Laura Welsh)