There are few natural phenomena quite as awe-inspiring to behold as the magical northern lights. No amount of images or videos circulating on the internet can truly convey the feeling of what it’s like to be surrounded by them, and see them with your own eyes, in real life. The northern lights will completely overwhelm you, to an extend where you can only utter sounds of sheer admiration, with a fading voice due to being blown away.

Perhaps only a total solar eclipse or a volcanic eruption could rival with northern lights in terms of mind-blowingness.

Hunting northern lights in Iceland

This is my story about hunting the whimsical northern lights in Iceland, how to find them, and what it’s like to experience them in all their full-blown glory. I have been fortunate to see them many times around Iceland and on Vestmannaeyjar, in the lava fields and on top of kletturs, including those crazy pulsating effects.

Summoning the northern lights on Heimaey (Vestmannaeyjar), on a full moon night in September 2017. Photo by Ruth Zohlen.

The whimsical behaviour of Aurora Borealis

The elusive northern lights are notorious for their whimsy and unpredictable diva behaviour. Sometimes they will not turn up when they are supposed to. And on other occasions they crash onto the scene completely unannounced, demanding your immediate attention.

Because, they’re here! It’s Aurora Borealis! You never know how long they fancy staying, or when they will return.

Northern lights over Heimaey in August 2018. The earliest ones I’ve seen; they can already become visible by the middle of August.

Aurora myths and misunderstandings

Some say you can’t see the northern lights in summer. And that it has to be really cold for them to appear. I can say from my own experience of living, travelling and hunting northern lights in Iceland in various periods of time that this is not true. Cold in itself has nothing to do with it.

Yes, it will be too light to see them between May and mid-August. But I have seen magnificent displays at the end of August on several occasions (and virtually nothing in December and January).

The depth of winter is not necessarily the best time to see them. Also because of the added challenge of frequent snowstorms from hell, resulting in road closures and (very) difficult driving conditions. Winter travel and snowstorms are no joke in Iceland.

A giant column of northern lights erupting from Eyjafjallajökull. Photo by Ruth Zohlen.

When can you see northern lights?

The northern lights can be visible when it gets dark enough to see them. In Iceland, this is basically between the middle of August and the middle of April. Especially the autumn period has good chances. The end of August, September and October is often the best time to see northern lights.

This is when the Autumn Equinox Extravaganza coronal hole comes around. And it consistently delivered the most active outbursts over the past years – even during the solar minimum in 2019 and 2020. An added benefit is that the weather in Iceland is still fairly good in autumn, and not as cold as winter and early spring.

Aurora Borealis on Rauðisandur beach in the Westfjords, early September 2020.

The best months for northern lights in Iceland

The activity of the coronal holes, sunspots and geomagnetic storms – and the resulting northern lights – is often highest around the autumn and spring equinoxes, in September and March. They generally seem to run on a 27- to 28-day cycle, plus some minor outbursts roughly halfway inbetween. So you could technically plan a trip around those active periods for maximum chances to see the northern lights.

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@ At the bottom of this article you’ll find more information about current aurora forecasts and predictions.

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Northern lights in Thórsmörk, during the Autumn Equinox Extravaganza in September 2018.

Northern lights near Vík in October 2016.

Crucial conditions for aurora hunting

So what are the perfect conditions for northern lights? The three most important things:

It needs to be dark enough, relatively cloudless, and the magical ingredient has to occur: a solar flare, spewn forth from a coronal hole on the surface of the sun towards the Earth; its charged particles colliding with the Earth’s magnetic field. The resulting energy lights up the sky in a brilliant display of moving colours, circling around the latitudes where it enters the magnetic north and south pole of our planet.

That’s the magical zone where the aurora oval is situated.

And Iceland is right underneath it. This means you will see northern lights all around you when they fancy showing up. Including multi-coloured coronas bursting out above and branching out to all sides when an X-rated flare is coughed up by the sun.

Solar flare colliding with the Earth’s magnetic field.

Electrical currents of northern lights dropping down above Blátindur (Vestmannaeyjar).

The next solar maximum and northern lights peak

As we are now moving into a period of increasing activity, these solar flares will happen more often and more powerful in the next couple of years. And the more powerful they are, the stronger (& more colourful) the northern lights will be. The solar maximum of the current cycle is expected to peak between 2023 and 2025.

But even though the activity goes up and down during the 11-year solar cycle, you can still see northern lights in Iceland when the coronal holes on the sun are less active.

Northern lights can even take on shades of yellow, orange or pink!

Tantalizing little glimpses

I saw my first glimpse of northern lights at a time when solar activity was almost at its minimum, in 2007. In one of the least likeliest places – in the middle of Reykjavík, at the end of August. I was standing on the balcony of my guesthouse near Hallgrímskirkja late at night, having a midnight Wilderness Coffee and enjoying the view.

And then it suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I almost choked on my coffee. At first I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was very faint and subtle; a wisp of light appearing for a few seconds before it faded into darkness again. But after a few minutes I saw it again, and it was definitely an aurora. Even though it was tiny, there was no mistaking it.

Little curtains of green light were flowing & moving across the sky, disappearing briefly, and then reappearing again. It was nowhere near as grand as the massive blasts of lights you’ll see on postcards and pictures on the internet, but I was in awe nevertheless. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of happiness & gratitude – to see them when I least expected it.

Unpredictable behaviour

Unfortunately I didn’t see them again on that trip. Even as I went on travelling to more remote parts of Iceland, with much clearer skies. Proverbially screaming in frustration, because they wouldn’t show up with all the right conditions being present.

Bizarre shaped flying northern lights!

The Autumn Equinox Extravaganza

It wasn’t until early October 2015 that I could see them again, in all their full-blown glory.

I had talked my friend into going with me to Iceland again, after we already went and cruised along the south coast the year before. But, being a like-minded geology- and natural phenomena-enthusiast, he wasn’t difficult to convince. And one of the many reasons was the likeliness to see northern lights. According to predictions based on the 28-day cycle of the sun around its own axis, there would be a huge sunspot with coronal mass ejection potential facing the Earth. Chances would be highly likely to have northern lights at a very convenient time during our trip.

Solar flare and geomagnetic storm

There was already some unclear and disputed activity going on when we were in Reykjavík, but that hadn’t been very convincing. It was just a faint greyish bow, without any colours visible to the naked eye. The only evidence that it was actually an aurora was a long-exposure photo revealing its green colour. And you could see stars shining through it, so it wasn’t a regular cloud. But for me, that didn’t count as a real aurora.

The aurora activity didn’t really get going until we got to Stykkishólmur on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, which was the day the solar flare was due to arrive.

Northern lights circling & dancing above Helgafell, near Stykkishólmur.

Energy from out of space pouring in

As it was getting darker, anticipation increased. We were finishing our meal at the restaurant by the harbour, and my friend just had to go outside to check if anything could already be observed. The next moment he came rushing back in, frantically waving.

It was on. In a big way.

We jumped in the car and quickly got to a darker spot just outside town, at the foot of a hill called Helgafell. The skies opened up and flares of electromagnetic charged particles & energy from out of space came pouring in, colliding with the Earth’s magnetic field, creating a display of light so magnificient it took your breath away.

Electromagnetic charged northern lights colliding with the Earth’s magnetic field.

Aurora Borealis pouring in!

Sky-filling northern lights

Massive green curtains came dropping down with purple tips on their edges, above and below, constantly shifting and changing, moving in all directions and tumbling over one another.

It was literally out of this world. It filled the whole sky, and went on for hours on end. You just didn’t know where to look next out of sheer excitement and ecstasy. In the middle of all this extravaganza, even a heart-shaped northern light showed up in the sky.

It’s mind-boggling to realise that northern lights actually make the Earth’s magnetic field visible to the naked eye!

Filling up the sky!

Heart-shaped northern lights. 💚

Sleep deprevation due to light pollution

The timing couldn’t have been better for my friend, because he actually had them for his birthday. What an awesome present to be treated to such a magnificient northern lights show! When they finally slowed down a little, we went back to the guesthouse to have a celebratory drink of Brennivín.

It was difficult to go to sleep after all this excitement. They just kept on going. Even the locals were impressed. When we looked outside, activity had increased again. At some point I woke up in the middle of the night, and they were still at it. There was lots of stuff hanging in the sky, flaring up at irregular intervals.

Sleep deprevation due to light pollution… 😉

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@ Finally I got my own spectacular nature show too. See what I was treated to on my birthday in 2021…!

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Two nature spectacles in one: northern lights and a volcanic eruption! Fagradalsfjall near Grindavík, in April 2021.

All hell breaks loose

The next evening, northern lights became visible as soon as dusk settled in. We had started our rúntur around Snæfellsnes a bit later than intended, due to all the distraction on the previous night. We were still bumbling along the peninsula on our way back to Stykkishólmur – and all hell broke loose.

Serious warning!

Driving a vehicle along small & winding Snæfellsnes roads while northern lights are exploding overhead on all sides is potentially lethal. They are extremely distracting. Do not, under any circumstance, continue driving when they are unfolding in front of you. Go to the nearest turn-off where you can park safely, to avoid accidents due to driving under the influence of the aurora.

Extremely distracting northern lights

It was very difficult to focus & keep my eyes on the road, and I just skidded into the first farm gravel track I saw. Luckily we weren’t far from Kirkjufell at that moment. After some gasping and catching our breath, we continued our precarious journey to watch the show in comfort there, with the spectacular backdrop of Iceland’s iconic triangular mountain as an added bonus.

There’s a comfortable place to park near Kirkjufell too.

Renting a car for your aurora hunting adventure

If you want to chase the northern lights, it’s very practical to rent your own car in Iceland, so you can instantly go to where the aurora is visible.

I have rented cars with several companies in Iceland, and I’m really pleased with Blue Car Rental. It’s my go-to company now when I want to rent a car in Iceland. Blue Car offers good quality cars and hassle-free packages with zero deposit and all the main insurances included. They have an office just across the road from Keflavík International Airport and in Reykjavík at the Grandi harbour district. You can fill out your details and check in online, so picking up your rental car is quick and easy.

If you book through this link, you’ll also get a 5% discount on their car rental rates! 🙂

Northern lights over Kirkjufell, near Grundarfjörður on the Snæfellsnes Peninsula.

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@ This is one of the most popular stories across all Wilderness Coffee & Natural High pages.

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Photos from 2015 (mostly) by Freek Slangen. You can find more pictures & info on his own website (in English and Dutch).

Green and purple pillars in the sky.

Northern lights forecast in Iceland

You can find a handy 3-day aurora activity forecast on the Veður (Icelandic Met Office) website. It also shows the cloud coverage predictions – a very important detail for your hunting options & opportunities. Look for the white spots! These are the cloudless areas. SpaceWeatherLive has detailed information about coronal holes, mass ejections, solar flares and other aurora-related activity happening in real time, as well as a general 27-day Kp index forecast.

How to predict auroras

Photographer Mads Peter Iversen wrote an excellent article about the art of predicting auroras, and explains the variety of factors & circumstances involved into detail. There’s much more to it than just the Kp-number! Aurora Forecast Iceland has a user-friendly site with a clear overview of aurora-related maps and graphs. Happy hunting!

Skál to the northern lights! The start of the aurora hunting season, at the end of August in Reykjavík.

@ Have you experienced the otherworldy beauty of the Aurora? Let me know in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you! Your questions, comments and suggestions are also helpful for other readers and travellers. Thank you for sharing.

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(*) This article contains some affiliate links for services I have personally used and recommend. When you book through these links, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps me to run my website and keep on researching practical travel tips & information for you. 🙂

A shorter version of this story was also published as a guest post on Stuck in Iceland Travel Magazine in September 2016.

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More to explore & discover

Blown away big time – The overwhelming beauty of Iceland

Solar eclipse – A mind-blowing experience

Aurora Solaris – The sunset version of northern lights

Dalalæða – Spectacular waterfalls of fog

Vestmannaeyjar – Þar sem hjartað slær (A spectacular island and festival)

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© All photos and content on this website are my own, and subject to copyright (unless credited otherwise). Please contact me if you want to use a photo or quote a text from one of my articles. You’re welcome to share a link to my blog articles and photos on social media, with a tag and mention to Wilderness Coffee & Natural High.

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First published: 3 March 2017