The best things to do in northern Norway

From whale-watching to wildlife expeditions, snowmobile rides to self-drive dog sledding, all with a chance to see the Northern Lights, why not discover Norway this winter?

Explore the Arctic terrain on a snowmobile

Northern Norway is not a place to just sit back and admire the view - or the Northern Lights.

This land of mystical, elemental beauty encourages a more intense interaction. You can hike, climb, ski, skim across the ocean on a RIB, drive a snowmobile, or be hauled on a sled by huskies. The Norwegians have devised many ways for visitors to embrace, rather than be intimated by, their winter wonderland.

Svalbard, an archipelago less than 800 miles from the North Pole, is one of the few places you can see the Aurora Borealis during the day as well as night; it is also one of the very few places in the world where you can explore under a glacier.

The Longyear Glacier provides a spectacular underworld of tunnels, crystals, caves and narrow corridors of ice and rock. Svalbard Wildlife Expeditions will guide you on this expedition and offer for those experienced enough, ice climbing.

The tip of Europe

Stay overnight in a Sami Lavvo (visitnorway.com)

Perhaps an easier physical interaction with this Arctic terrain is on a snowmobile. South of Svalbard, but still one of the most northerly points of continental Europe, you can join a snowmobile ride to Norway’s Nordkapp (North Cape) at the top of Magerøya Island.

Destinasjon 71 Nord (en.71-nord.no) will whisk you through a hauntingly stark and barren snowscape, stopping to see the Northern Lights on the way until you come to this tip of Europe where there is a visitors’ centre, overnight accommodation and a viewing platform for potentially spectacular photographs of the Aurora Borealis.

And in pursuit of the perfect holiday snap, some tour operators such as Green Gold of Norway have come up with a very helpful 24-hour package which not only offers snowmobile excursions, whale-watching and staying overnight in a Lavvo (tent), but a short photography workshop thrown in to teach you just how to take those Northern Lights pictures. Their expeditions are based around the city of Tromsø.

If it’s animals you want to photograph then head to Polar Park, the most northern animal park in the world. You will find it in the Salangsdalen Valley in Bardu, about 45 miles north of Narvik.

The animals roam in large enclosures, the scale more like a safari park than a zoo. There are wolves, brown bears, lynx, arctic foxes, elks, reindeer and moose. Visitors can even stay in a cabin in the wolf enclosure. Although very safe, it won’t be the quietest night spent in the wilderness.

Colossal creatures

One of most exciting adventures in northern Norway is seeing a sperm whale in its natural habitat (Getty Images)

The ultimate animal to see in northern Norway is the sperm whale. Head to Andenes, on the Vesterålen islands, the only place in Europe where it’s possible to go whale-watching all year around. Just behind the coastline, receding ice age glaciers have left their mark: the huge Bleik Canyon, a mile-deep part of the sea where sperm whales thrive on the abundant fish and squid.

Hvalsafari will take you out in a trawler to prime whale-spotting territory. You don’t have to wait long before the various body parts of these 60-foot-long colossal creatures begin to emerge: blowing, arching and fluking, lifting their tails into the air and then diving down oh-so-elegantly into the depths below.

No trip to northern Norway is complete without taking part in a bit of mushing, enjoying the Arctic tundra while being pulled by a team of huskies. How long you spend being driven through the snow is up to you - tours last between one hour to expeditions spanning days.

You can even learn to drive your own sled. Tromsø Villmarkssenter, which runs Tromsø’s largest husky camp, offers a self-drive dog sledding package for those who want to be in control.

Let a team of huskies pull your sled through the Arctic terrain (Getty images)

If you prefer to be pulled by reindeer, a Sami guide will drive the sled, teach you how to lasso throw and give you an introduction to Sami culture.

Fore more inspiration click here - and to find out more and book your break to Norway, visit visitnorway.com