Winter is the time for light in Alta. The polar night, northern lights and the artic light with its pink and golden hues, take centre stage. The perfect backdrop for a season jam-packed with adventures, both in- and outdoors.
There is something special about the Arctic winter. Nature turns into a glittering white, pink and blue fairyland – sharper and fresher and yet more fragile at the same time. When you watch the norhen lights spin playfully across the winter sky. As you expirinese the frist golden rays of snulight on the mountaintop come the end of polar night. Or as you visit the ice hotel, where the snowy walls and ice sculptures color the light with a blueish hue and creates an extraordinary, mystical mood. A long lost sensetion may come to you, that magic is real after all.
Who are you travelling with?
Even if the winter can get cold and dark, we do not go into hiding in Alta. Winter, and spring, are the best season for our favourite outdoor activities. As a famous Norwegian saysing goes: “Det finnes ikke dårlig vær, bare dårlige klær”- (There is no bad wether, only bad clothes.) If you dress appropriately, you won’t have a problem staying outside in the cold. Winter is our peak season when it comes to tourism, with northern lights hunts, dogsledding, fatbike-tours, snowmobile adventures and whale safaris to name a few.
Families and friends often gather outside, around the bonfire or the ice-fishing hole or out on an adventure in the snow-clad landscape. The locals do not tend to just stay indoors during the winter months, as many eagerly await the first snow so that they may partake in their favourite hobbies, such as skiing and snowmobiling. In addition, more and more locals in Alta take their fatbikes around and outside town as soon as the ground turns white. Whatever floats your boat, there are tracks that will take you around wherever you want to go.
Winter is also the highlight for dogmushers and Alta is Europe’s dogsledding hotspot. Few other places have such a high density of dogmusher in such a small area. In addition, Alta is both the start and finish line for the famous Finnmarksløpet, Europe’s longest dogsledding race. This race has a nickname «the winter’s most beautiful adventure» locally and within the dogsledding community and creates a feeling of celebration and fun throughout the City of Alta. Truly worth a visit. And if you want to try your hand at dogsledding yourself, there’s plenty of dogmushers that run tourism businesses in Alta. They will be more than happy to let you get a taste of the lifestyle that they are so passionate about.