Welcome to Alta, a city located above the Arctic Circle. Here you can experience our Arctic lifestyle and join a winter adventure between powdery snow and the open sea under the northern lights.
Alta is located at the intersection of the sea and the plateau. This geographic area has, since the Stone Age, been a meeting place for several indigenous people groups. They have built their common history and future to master the rugged arctic environment.
A world of unreal contrasts. Next to nothing, close to everything. This is arctic living.
Cold and long winters provide good opportunities to build an igloo hotel every single winter. The Sorrisniva Ice Hotel is located on the banks of the legendary Alta River. Here everything is made of ice; the rooms, the beds and even the glasses at the bar.
Even though Alta has two months of Polar Nights, the locals are not sitting inside waiting for the sun to return. Light, powdered snow is practically guaranteed all winter, and the conditions for dog sledding, skiing, snowmobiling and fat biking are excellent. Short trips, as well as longer trips, are a perfect opportunity to experience the snow covered landscape and the bright colors of the Arctic daylight or to look for the northern lights at night.
Experienced northern lights hunters go either to the Arctic coast or to the legendary and largely empty Finnmark plateau in the south, thus increasing the chances of seeing the northern lights.
In Sami, the northern lights are called “guovssahas” which means “the light you can hear“, and old folk beliefs indicate that the northern lights both crackle and crackle.