Nuolja

Home / Places / Sweden / Abisko / Nuolja

Nuolja is a Mountain and Ski Resort and Area at 981 07 Abisko, Sweden

Nuolja, known in Swedish as Njulla, rises to around 1,169 metres on the northern edge of Abisko National Park, above the great lake Torneträsk. Its open, treeless upper slopes give sweeping views across the water and the U-shaped Lapporten valley. In summer they fill with alpine flowers and walking paths; in winter the mountain offers backcountry and lift-served skiing, with a chairlift running up from the Abisko station. Nuolja also has a long scientific pedigree. It is home to one of the world’s longest-running studies in phenology, the science of how the timing of natural events shifts from year to year. Researchers here note the dates of recurring milestones, the melting of the snow, the first birch leaves, the flowering, the return of migratory birds. Set those dates side by side across many decades and you can measure a changing climate. On Nuolja the record reaches back to the early twentieth century, a valuable window on the warming Arctic. Near the top stands the Aurora Sky Station, and it is for the aurora that the mountain is best known. Raised above any valley haze and inside the clear skies of the Abisko blue hole, it is one of the finest viewing perches anywhere, the lights wheeling across the whole sweep of sky above Torneträsk far below.

Where to find Nuolja?

68°21'41"N, 18°43'24"E

Aurora hunting in Abisko?

The aurora season here runs from September to March, with the best chances of seeing the Northern Lights in October, February and March. With minimal light pollution, Nuolja could offer a dramatic backdrop for aurora viewing.

Other places to try near Nuolja