Situated 250 km north of the Arctic Circle this quaint village, Abisko, is considered the perfect location to watch the Northern Lights. However, Abisko is also home to another natural wonder. Known as the ‘blue hole’, a patch of sky which extends from 10 to 20 sq km remains clear irrespective of the weather condition in the rest of the village. The site has attracted several tourists and photographers from all around the world to witness the rare phenomenon.
According to a report, Hakan Grudd, a research support coordinator and deputy station manager of the Abisko Research Station said,” The wind direction is chiefly from the west of this area, indicating that the air flowing is of higher altitude to pass over the Scandinavian Mountains. With this, clouds form and the air loses its moisture through precipitation resulting in the air of Abisko being dry and dropping to lower altitudes thus disintegrating clouds, hence the ‘blue hole’.” Nature is at its finest during the long dark season as the patch of skies lies within the Auroral oval. Thus, making mid-August to April the right time to visit the place.
Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, occur when the gases present in the atmosphere of the earth mix with the solar flares that erupted from the surface of the sun. This leads to creating hues of different colours in the sky like red, green and purple, all splashed in the night sky.
Along with a patch of clear sky and Northern Lights, Abisko also draws major tourist attractions during microclimate which provides ravishing views. One such rare view is ‘moonbows’ also known as lunar rainbows and lunar halos. These occur when moonlight reflects and refracts via water droplets and crystals near the blue hole.
Along with this, Abisko provides shelter to 70,000 members of the indigenous Sami community who reside in the Arctic and sub-arctic parts of Norway, Sweden. It also provides shelter to reindeers.
