Crossing the Arctic Circle: where the North begins
Few lines on a map carry as much meaning as the Arctic Circle. Cross it, and you step into a different world – one shaped by deep winter, endless light and generations of stories.
An invisible line sweeps across Sweden, Finland, Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland and Iceland – a line that also splits Norway in two. The magic number 66° 33’ marks this line, the Arctic Circle, north of which the Midnight Sun shines. Above the line, you can see the sun 24 hours a day throughout the summer – or the Northern Lights in the winter, weather permitting.
On a Hurtigruten voyage along the Norwegian coast, we often celebrate crossing the line with rites such as whistle signals and symbolic on-deck baptisms. You will see the line marked on a globe on the small islet of Vikingen, in Rødøy Municipality between Nesna and Ørnes.
To the west of this point is the island of Hestmannen, which was depicted in the Nordland legend about trolls that were suddenly turned into stone, becoming the mountains along the Nordland coast. Eastwards, Mefjorden continues up to the Svartisen glacier.
The exact location of the Arctic Circle varies each time you travel past it. Over the course of a full year, the virtual line shifts by almost 50 feet – while Vikingen and its Arctic Circle Monument remain firmly in place. The exact position of the line depends on the angle of the earth’s axis compared to the plane of its orbit at the time.
One of the most famous attractions above the Arctic Circle is the North Cape – the northernmost point on the European mainland. A visit to this rugged cliff is an undisputed highlight of any Hurtigruten cruise along the Norwegian coast.
Where is the Arctic Circle?
The Arctic region spans multiple borders and cultures in the Northern Hemisphere. It stretches from Norway, Sweden and Finland across the Russian north to the United States (Alaska), Canada and Greenland. The tiny island of Grímsey nudges Iceland into the Arctic Circle, too. With the Kingdom of Denmark, they form the Arctic Council – the stewards of the north.
These latitudes also include the Norwegian and Barents seas in the Atlantic, and the Arctic Ocean surrounding the North Pole. They hold thousands of communities, millions of migratory animals and landscapes ranging from boreal forest (or taiga) to tundra to ice cap.
Mainland Norway sits at the southern edge of this polar world, yet it’s deeply connected to it. Here, you’re not just exploring Norway. You’re part of a larger, shared Arctic story.
The land of light and dark
North of the Arctic Circle, night and day follow a different rhythm. The line itself shifts slightly each year – about 15 metres – depending on Earth’s axial tilt.
At these lines of latitude, the sun stays above the horizon for at least one full day in summer and disappears for at least one in winter. The further north you go, the more extreme it gets, expanding from one day to several weeks and finally up to six months of continuous light or dark at the North Pole.
From late May to mid-July, the sun doesn’t set at all in places like Tromsø, Alta and the Lofoten Islands. Further north, in Svalbard, it stays up from late April until late August. Under the Midnight Sun, time stretches out – hikes run late, conversations drift on, and the days blur beautifully together.
In winter, the Polar Night wraps the Arctic in darkness, but it’s far from still. Light spills from within homes. Snow shifts. And the dark sky often flares with the aurora.
Life adapts to these extremes year-round. Reindeer dig through snow for food. Arctic foxes change their coats with the seasons. People reshape their routines to embrace the extremes. Here, light and dark aren’t just background; they shape the entire rhythm of life.
Northern Lights and natural wonders
Northern Norway sits directly beneath the Auroral Oval, a belt around the magnetic poles where the solar particles that cause the Northern Lights are most active. This band stretches across northern Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland and parts of Canada – but few places offer better viewing conditions than Norway’s Arctic coast. It’s one of the best places in the world to see the Northern Lights.
At sea here, you’re far away from light pollution, with open views. Ships can sail to clearer weather if clouds roll in – one of the many reasons our Northern Lights cruises are so reliable.
Life in the North
Indigenous peoples have lived with the Arctic landscapes for thousands of years. Among them are the Inuit, Chukchi and Nenets. The indigenous people here in Norway are the Sámi.
Sápmi – the Sámi homeland – spans northern Norway, Sweden and Finland (including Swedish Lapland and Finnish Lapland), and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. Here, Sámi culture is part of everyday life, alive in the language, the handicrafts and the food.
Sámi herders still practise reindeer herding, following ancient migratory routes across snowy plains, although these days many use snowmobiles and even helicopters alongside traditional sleds.
Wild and wide landscapes
Arctic landscapes are as striking as the skies. Tundra plains roll out in soft, earthy tones – frozen for much of the year, but bursting with hardy life in summer. Mountain ranges rise sharply from the sea, their peaks shaped by ice and time. And in between are sweeping archipelagos, rugged coastlines and quiet fjords.
Along Norway’s Arctic coast, Nordland county is a highlight. From the Helgeland coastline just south of the Arctic Circle to the jagged silhouettes of the Lofoten Islands within it, this area holds some of the Arctic’s most iconic – and photogenic – scenery.
Even further north lies Svalbard, a wild archipelago of calving glaciers, icy fjords and polar wildlife. It’s as close as most travellers will ever get to the North Pole.
Oceans and ice
The North Pole is a frozen heart at the top of the world surrounded by the Arctic Ocean. In winter, the sea ice spreads south, covering millions of square kilometres. By late summer, much of it has melted back. This annual cycle has long shaped migration patterns, marine life and human activity.
Along Norway’s coast, things are different. Here, the Gulf Stream keeps the sea ice at bay by carrying warmer water from the Atlantic Ocean north into the Arctic Ocean all the way to Svalbard.
It means that even above the Arctic Circle, Norway’s fjords stay open and navigable year-round, allowing life and travel to carry on even when other places in the Arctic are brought to a standstill by the ice. That’s why our Original Coastal Express can reliably sail around Norway’s North Cape, at 71° North, even in the depths of winter.
But these patterns are changing. Ice retreats earlier. It returns later. The Arctic Ocean is warming, and the Arctic region is feeling the impact of global warming first.
The changing Arctic
Nowhere shows the effects of climate change more clearly than the Arctic. Svalbard is warming six times faster than the global average. Glaciers are shrinking. Sea ice is thinning.
Arctic wildlife such as polar bears, walruses and seabirds are losing critical habitat. Communities that have lived in balance with the environment for centuries are being forced to adapt to shorter winters, unstable ice and shifting ecosystems.
What happens in the Arctic is a warning to the rest of the planet. Exploration plays a role not just in witnessing climate change, but in understanding it.
Visiting the Arctic on The Svalbard Line offers more than awe. It raises awareness. It connects you with a fragile part of the world that needs urgent care. And through that connection, change becomes more than a concept. It becomes powerfully personal.
Sail to the Arctic with Hurtigruten
The Arctic Circle is more than a line on a map. It’s a moment. And crossing it by ship is something you’ll always remember.
On board our ships, it’s a tradition to mark each crossing with a whistle, King Neptune, a bucket of icy seawater and, on Signature voyages, perhaps a shot of something strong to warm you up afterwards!
