Winter in Kiruna – things to see and do in a winter wonderland in Swedish Lapland

When I worked at a tourism company in Kiruna, I spent many evenings in Abisko. Unfortunately I had really bad luck with the weather most days. Though, that might’ve been a good thing as I actually had to spend a lot of time indoors working. One evening however, there were reasonably good weather conditions and I got to experience a beautiful northern light that danced over the mountain Nuolja. I do still dream of actually being up in the mountains during a clear winter night with swirling northern lights above me. Hopefully that dream will become reality soon.

At Aurora Sky Station you have the opportunity to book a four-course Exclusive Dinner which is inspired by the Lapland environment and the Nordic cuisine. The dinner costs SEK 1925 and it’s recommended that you book in advance as there’s only a limited number of tickets available each night. They also have a large outdoor terrace and a lookout tower up on the mountain Nuolja where the Sky Station is located. It is also possible to “only” go up with the lift on a Night Visit – this costs SEK 745.

It’s around 100km between Kiruna and Abisko but during the wintertime the weather can change quickly, especially up in the mountains. So some days it might take a little bit longer to drive up there. Keep that in mind if you’re planning to go there.

Experience the Northern Lights from other places

Even though Abisko is a really good place to experience the lights from, it doesn’t mean that you can’t see them anywhere else. Honestly, if you ask me, there isn’t a bad place to experience them at. No matter where you are, I’m sure you’ll be enchanted when you see them! To maximize your chances to see them – keep away from the cities and all artificial light!

Lucky for you, Kiruna has about 1 inhabitant per square kilometer and most of them actually lives in the city centre or in one of the villages. So that means if you can get outside the city, you’ll have a good chance of seeing the northern lights as long as there’s a clear sky and most important, you also need optimal conditions for northern lights.

So, how can you tell if there’s gonna be northern lights on a particular night. You really can’t tell but I recommend you to check out Aurora Service .

If you don’t have access to a car and can get away from the city lights on your own – I always recommend going on a northern lights tour. While going on a tour doesn’t increase your chances of seeing the lights it does give you the advantage of being out in the forest and away from all light sources. And that gives you better conditions of seeing them.

There’s quite a few Northern Lights tours where you ride snowmobiles or dog sledding which can be a fun experience even if there is no Northern Lights during that particular evening.

Sleep in a snow suite at ICEHOTEL

A visit to ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjärvi is a must when visiting Kiruna. At least if it’s your first visit here. The ice scuptures and the hotel is actually built from scratch each year so it might be fun to visit even if you’ve already been before.

If you’re feeling brave you can book a room in either one of the ice rooms, or if you have some extra money and want to splurge a little – stay in one of the art suites. I’ve never stayed there myself so I can’t say what it’s like. But I’m sure it’s a cool experience to sleep in a room made of snow and ice.

I have been to the ICE HOTEL a few times, always with a few years in between so it still feels like a fun experience. Nowadays they also have the ICEHOTEL 365 which you can visit all year around. And did you know that the ICEHOTEL is constantly finding it’s way to various lists of places you need to visit??

Läs mer: Ishotellet i Jukkasjärvi – en året runt upplevelse

Experience Sami culture at Nutti Sámi Siida in Jukkasjärvi

Experiencing Sami culture while you are in Kiruna feels like a must. A perfect way to do this is by visiting Nutti Sámi Siida in Jukkasjärvi. Here you can learn more about Sami history and culture while also being able to visit those cute reindeers.

They also have a lávvu (a sami tent) on site with a small café where you can eat a traditional Sami lunch by the open fire. Because when you are in Kiruna and the surrounding area you have to taste the souvas!

It costs SEK 200 for a visit and a guided tour is included. If you want a more exclusive experience, you can book a day trip where you can also go reindeer sledding. This costs from 1980 SEK.

Prices are for an adult.

Läs mer: Nutti Sámi Siida – ett besök bland renar och samisk kultur

Dogsledding in a gorgeous winter wonderland

I’ve only going dogsledding once and I absolutely loved it! It’s something I would love to experience again. Just imaging going on a longer tour to experience the nature and the mountains with your own little dog family.

You can go on a lot of different dog sledding excursions – daytrips, overnight stays, northern light tours, airport transfers… I have listed (and linked) some of the companies I know that offer dog sledding tours in the Kiruna area. If you know of any more companies that offer this, please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll update the list.

Different tours that you can go on in Kiruna

• Dogsledding with wildernesslunch (or with just coffee)
• Dogsledding with overnight stay
• Sled Dog Transfer from Kiruna airport to ICEHOTEL
• Dogsledding Night tour (Northern Lights tour)

Companies in Kiruna that offer dogsleddingtours

• Kiruna Husky
• Fjellborg Arctic Journeys
• Jukkasjärvi VildmarksTurer
• White Trail Adventures
• Laxforsen Sleddog
• Husky Home

You can either book directly with the dogsledding companies or book through a tourism company such as Kiruna Guidetur or ICEHOTEL.