Ottawa, Sept. 24 (Prince Latina) It’s enough to look up at the sky in the middle of October through March nights in Whitehorse, northern Canada, to enjoy the light show known as the aurora borealis.
The fastest way to get to that area is from Vancouver, and once there, many operators offer visitors guided tours to see the natural phenomenon, as well as activities like snowboarding, walking, and other outdoor sports.
According to specialist sites, the best time of day to observe luminosity is about two hours before and after midnight, and it can last from 30 seconds to several hours.
Legend has it that the Vikings considered the northern lights to be the shield of the Valkyries (maiden warriors); The Sami believed that they resulted from the tail of a fox striking the snow; While the Eskimos interpret the symbols of the arrival of new spirits.
In fact, this phenomenon occurs when charged particles from the Sun collide with the Earth’s atmosphere and the magnetic field directs them towards the poles.
Its name comes from Aurora, the Roman goddess of dawn, and Boreas, the Greek god of the cold north wind.
Perfect places to appreciate these shades of green, yellow, blue, purple, and red are those near the Arctic Circle, where up to 200 nights with the northern lights are recorded annually, with Scandinavia as a reference.
Whitehorse is a gateway to other areas such as Alaska and is the capital of the Yukon, a region famous for its huge forests and glaciers and a population of about 34,000 spread over an area almost as large as Spain or Sweden.
Adventure in this wilderness also includes canoeing and kayaking trips, the center of which is the home of Old Log Church, the world’s only log cabin-style cathedral.
