Svalbard

Svalbard is a High Arctic archipelago far north of the mainland, a land of glaciers, ice-carved fjords and tundra where polar bears outnumber people and the sun neither sets in summer nor rises in the depth of winter. Longyearbyen, its small main town, is the northernmost settlement on earth with more than a thousand residents.

History

Willem Barentsz sighted the coast in 1596 and described the "pointed mountains", spitse bergen, that gave Spitsbergen its name. The first recorded landing came in 1604 at Bjørnøya, whaling for bowhead whales followed from 1611, and the Dutch founded Smeerenburg in 1619; Russian hunters arrived by the late 17th century, and Norwegian hunting, mostly for walrus, began in the 1790s (Wikipedia, Svalbard).

Highlights

• Glaciers and fjords - the ice-bound landscape reached by boat, snowmobile or dog sled.
• Polar bears - the Arctic's great predator, seen only with guides and armed guards.
• Midnight sun and polar night - the endless summer light and the long winter dark with aurora.
• Longyearbyen - the frontier town, the seed vault and the old mining relics.

When to go

Late winter and spring for snowmobiling, dog sledding and aurora; summer for boat trips, hiking and the midnight sun. Each season is a completely different Arctic experience.

Things to know

This is genuine High Arctic wilderness where the polar bear danger is real - you cannot leave the settlement without a guide and a rifle, and independent wandering is unsafe. It is expensive and remote, reached by air, or by expedition ship in summer. The climate is extreme, so it demands proper Arctic gear and respect.

Nearby

Tromso on the mainland is the gateway city; the rest of the archipelago is reached from Longyearbyen by boat and snowmobile.

Key facts