Svalbard

The polar night

Arriving in Longyearbyen this time of year feels a bit like landing on another planet. The Arctic polar night lasts almost three freezing months, when day and night merge into one.

It can be a bit overwhelming. You might lose track of time. There’s nothing to set your inner watch to, just the stars, if they’re visible.

When overcast, the clouds reflect light that never truly existed here until recently. Longyearbyen is a new place on Earth, a 'real' town for only about the last 35 years. Before that, it was a cluster of cold barracks for a handful of soot-covered men working deep in the mines, accompanied by some brave hunters that spent their time in tiny log cabins by desolate fjords.

As time itself loosens its grip, the rhythm of life slows. On the quiet roads, you might come across some of the more than 22,000 snow-white Svalbard reindeer, their breath like mist, next to the parking lots filled with snowmobiles, the most common and useful vehicle on an island with less than 50 km of roads.

Where the street lights fade, huge polar bears roam behind signs they cannot read. You must therefore never venture outside the safe zone in Longyearbyen without a guide who has polar bear protection.

The Svalbardians

Svalbard is much more than stunning Arctic nature and polar bears. One of the most fascinating things about it is its history, culture, and the people who live there.

Svalbard has now become like a long communal table, where an incredibly diverse group of people gather.

This includes everyone from German athletes who climb mountains and ski straight down to the pub after work, international husky-loving hipsters spending a season (or five) here, newly arrived-tourists, NASA staff, polar researchers, students, satellite engineers, and artists, to shy Finnish poets and industrious Thais – the largest group of foreigners here.

A big happy family

"We're bit like a big family up here. People come here from all over the world and are open minded, looking to meet new friends," says local resident Thorbjørn Staff, who is originally from Bergen.

Adventurers of all ages, often still pondering what they truly want to do when they grow up, call Svalbard home.

Because Svalbard is seldom a place you stay your whole life. Even though almost everyone from the whole world is allowed to live here, if they have a job and somewhere to stay, you can't die and be buried here, give birth here, get seriously ill here, or stay here is you need specialised care.

There is no nursing home here either. Yet, there are now more than 300 kids in the school and two kindergartens (which have 2-metre high polar bear-proof fencing).

The spirit of exploration

"What I love about Svalbard is that it attracts people from all extremes, all carrying a story and a dream," says Marina Van Dijk, a Dutch goldsmith, sailor and world adventurer, who came here for the first time more than 30 years ago.

You can find her serene silver designs in sale all over town and visit her small atelier.

"I get so inspired by the nature here. The incredible structures in the snowdrifts, the swift footprints, the stones... And I love the quietness of the polar night, when you really immensely appreciate the tiny light there is, like from sudden moonlight or a candle," she says.

Husky heaven

When darkness falls, a furry, happy friend is what you need! Rumour has it that there are more than 1,200 huskies in and around town.

You can meet some of them in one of the cosiest cafes in the Northern Hemisphere, the Husky Café.

"My friends and I started it in 2022 as a joke, after a beer night. But it has become a success," says one of the owners, Martin Fiala, while petting his snow-white dogs Yuku and Tyco.

One of the absolute must-dos in Svalbard is to go dog sledding.

The silence of the snow, the towering mountains, the light tapping of running paws.

"Come on, guys. We need to get these dogs ready!"

Dog musher Claudia Ventrone from Italy came to Svalbard to "get out of her comfort zone and gain personal growth".

"I fell in love with the place immediately. It's so unique, and the northernmost city in the world," she says.

She hurries us to get our pack of dogs ready to go. And that's not happening without a certain mess. The huskies love to run, and get VERY eager to go, howling like a pack of crazy wolves.

An hour later, we are ready to go. Strong legs take us deeper and deeper into the snow-covered valleys. It's like sliding into Narnia or some kind of unreal place with layer cake mountains towering over us, painted in some of the deepest blue hues you can imagine, all lit up by the moon.

More cool adventures

...await in the polar night. You can also venture into the wild on a guided snowmobile adventure. For the best of nature, choose an almost silent, electric vehicle.

"I came here because I was curious about what the polar night felt like. We never see the starry sky in Madrid, where I come from," says one Spanish tourist.

He's not alone. In a overly lit, chaotic and noisy world, nocturism, sleep tourism, and the need for silence has become increasingly popular.

Some pal e northern lights dance across the sky to the southeast (because we are now actually north of the northern lights oval!) as we stop for a break in the frozen river valley of Adventdalen, where most trips take you.

You can also join a guided hike to one of the mountains near Longyearbyen, or to a stunningly beautiful ice cave.

The secret of the mountains

You can sense it immediately: these mountains hold secrets. Black gold, white gold, but mostly gray stone layered with time.

The weight of history seeps into the bones of this land. Millions of years ago, pantodonts and plesiosaurs (you can see footprint fossils in the excellent Svalbard Museum) roamed here in tropical forests that drifted from the equator, now compressed into some of the purest coal in the world.

In 1901, American cruise tourist and businessman John Munroe Longyear arrived in Svalbard. Five years later, he established the first mine and the houses in 'Longyear City'.

In 2025, Norwegian coal mining will end, even for Gruve 7 ('Mine 7'), the last mine in operation.

Join a guided tour of Gruve 3 to understand what Longyearbyen was all about!

Black gold

"The coal was the black gold that brought most people here – miners who crawled through 70-centimetre-high tunnels, 7.5 hours a day, hunched over and on their knees, but with pride," explains guide Camilla Røhne.

She worked for 7 years driving big Caterpillar machines in the Svea mine, before it was shut down.

"The midnight sun makes me crazy. I love the polar night. It's a cosy time. We don't just sit inside watching Netflix, but go out whenever we can on our snowmobiles and socialise with the other locals," she says.

World heritage

The Arctic World Archive (AWA), which houses data of historical and cultural significance from all over the world, is also found inside the mountain. It includes an all open-source code from GitHub, digital copies of the Norwegian National Museum's art works, an original burger recipe from McDonalds, and much more. The data stored here has a lifespan exceeding 1,000 years without reliance on electricity or artificial climate control.

The archive also guards a synthetic DNA capsule, no larger than a fingernail, containing the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

It's a cultural ark frozen in permafrost, awaiting a future we cannot yet imagine.

A fascinating history

As you can see, Svalbard is a very small and remote place on Earth, but with a unique and geopolitically important history.

A visit to the excellent Svalbard Museum is literally a warm welcome to this very special spot on the planet and essential to understanding this quirky and multi-layered place.

Here, you can see everything from a hat that allegedly belonged to Willem Barentsz (the Dutch navigator and Arctic explorer who discovered Spitsbergen/Svalbard in 1596) to exhibits on the history of the many hunters, fishermen and miners who have lived here. You can also check out the latest research on climate change and how it affects this area more than perhaps anywhere else in the world.

Cultural experiences

More warming experiences await along the main street.

Pop into the art gallery Nordover, and see works by local artist Olaf Storø, Norwegian artist Kåre Tveter, and more.

You should also check out what's on at the cinema and the concert hall at the Longyearbyen Cultural Centre. Enjoy some real Mexican tacos in its restaurant before the show!

If you're still not warm enough, head for the SvalBad hot sauna in the harbour area.

By the way, did you know that you have to take off your shoes before you enter most museums, hotels and restaurants? This is a habit from the miners, who didn't want to go inside with soot on their boots.

The Christmas season

In November and December, Christmas lights brighten up the darkness, and the locals know how to make the best of the season. Especially during the annual Julemarsjen parade in mid-December, when everyone dresses up and rides Christmas-decorated kicksleds from pub to pub.

You can buy unique tax-free gifts from the souvenir shops in the main street and maybe pick up a box of sweet polar bear chocolates from Fruene, the super cosy café and chocolaterie, where you also can enjoy freshly made cinnamon buns and other baked goods.

Did you know that Julenissen, Santa, actually lives up in Mine 2, on the road to Nybyen?

Drop him your wish list in his post box by the road below!

The hotels are also festively decorated, particularly the 'Christmas hotel', Basecamp Hotel. It's designed in a classic and cosy hunter's cabin style, with an authentic and warm atmosphere. Stay here, get a drink or listen to a Christmas concert.

A foodie destination

Don't worry. Although you are in a tiny community at the edge of the world, you can still have a meal unlike any other!

Indulge in a 7 or 14 course meal at the unique, historical Huset Restaurant, right outside of town, where raw Arctic flavours meet the warming touch of Spain, thanks to its creative head chef Antonio Lozano.

"There is not a lot that grows here in this arid landscape. We therefore experiment a lot with fermentation and other conservation methods," our server tells us.

Eating here is like being a polar explorer embarking on a journey of Arctic flavours, where reindeer, seal, king crab and fresh fish are important ingredients. All presented as small works of art.

Huset surprisingly also houses Scandinavia's largest wine cellar, with more than 6,000 bottles!

Other fine dining places include the rustic and cosy Gruvelageret, right behind Huset, and you can also eat really well at the more upscale but still friendly Funken Lodge.

There are also several restaurant and pub options downtown, including fun and quirky Polarriggen and local favourite KB (the Karlsberger Pub).

In addition, it's possible to enjoy a rustic meal in the hunter's lodge at Camp Barentz, to get a feeling of being out of town and in the wilderness. Here, you'll be accompanied by an armed guard if you need to visit its outdoor bathroom (it's not you – it's the bears)!

… bowing gently under the thawing permafrost, as if genuflecting to a world forever shifting.

A vulnerable future

There is maybe no place on Earth where climate change is happening as rapidly, and where nature is more vulnerable to our human activities.

So if you decide to come, you may want to stay longer than you may have first intended. You should allow at least 4–7 nights for a polar adventure.

This will allow you to have time to immerse yourself in the wildness and humanity of Svalbard and give you more chances of clear skies and starlight. Spend some time enjoying the calm and the silence and getting a sense of the unique life lived at the edge of the world.