Best Places to See the Southern Lights: Aurora Australis

Photo by: Bigstockphoto
Photo by: Bigstockphoto

Among the many wonders in our planet, the northern and southern lights are among the world’s most impressive and breathtaking spectacles to see. Many people from all over the world travel to different places just to see them. These awesome lights are even the source of many legends especially to Native Americans but in order to find them; you need to know the places where these lights are most visible.

What is the difference between the northern and southern lights? Southern lights are considered to be the lesser counterpart of the famous Northern lights. Just like sisters, the Aurora Australis is said to be the ugly sister but this is because they are much harder to find than the Northern lights Aurora Borealis. However, there are very few places where you can actually find these Southern lights and if you happen to look at the map of the Polar Regions, you will find that south is mostly surrounded by water. This makes the Aurora Australis even harder to locate but not impossible. In fact, there are a few places that you can go to in order to see this so-called “ugly sister” of the famous Nothern Lights.

Stewart Island, New Zealand

This is located in the southern tip of New Zealand and is seen as a good spot for Aurora Australis. In this island, you will find a large national park called Rakiura National Park which in Maori language translates to the land of the glowing skies. The island also has hotels for those who want to stay and check out the southern lights during winter months.

South Georgia

South Georgia is an island encased by the sea the whole year through but the best times to go there and see the southern lights is around March. To get there, you can take cruises that bring people to South Georgia but make sure to visit the island around March until September where the weather is much safer to travel than any other months.

Ushuaia, Argentina

One of the best places to see the Aurora Australis is in the far south of Argentina. Ushuaia can be found further south. This city has a reputation for bad weather so the southern lights may be hard to locate at times. However, this place has a stunning scenery and awesome wildlife that you can view. It also has its own airport so traveling there may not be a problem. The best times to see the southern lights are during the winter months as they are more visible during this period.

The Falkland Islands

These are a group of small islands that is around 400 miles off the coast of South America. It is home to many marine animals and wildlife and about 2,000 people. The best time to go here and see the lights is around April and August where the day is shorter than night time.

Antarctic

Of course if there’s one place to best view these lights it’s in the Antarctic. Here the lights are even visible and more active. During winter, the sky is lighted up by these lights on a regular basis but since this place is -50 degrees, it’s a bit impossible to stay there for a long time. It is also expensive to go there during winter and the snow/ice becomes thick which will be a problem for you.

Now that you know where to go to see these lights, choose your destination. Just make sure that you know where you are going, what to do and how long you will be staying there. So let the adventures begin!