The northern lightson the Putorana Plateau

Except for public figures, the names of people in this story have been changed for privacy.

I went to the Putorana Plateau in September 2026 and saw my first northern lights there. And then a second, a third, almost every night at the base we ran out to look at the sky. Here’s how it went and what I learned.

Night one: a grey glow

On our second evening at the base we first kept watch for the aurora. We caught only a tiny bit: to the human eye it was just a grey glow in the sky, visible only in the camera’s night mode. But still, it was my first northern lights.

Night two: much cooler

Two days later I was about to go to sleep when Lena knocked on my door: she and Misha had seen the aurora, and far brighter than the first. I ran out to the shore, then everyone gathered there. It was great!!

Night three: we were late

After the climb onto the plateau we sat in the chill-out room, swapping stories, and went out to look at the sky a little later than we should have. We missed the most powerful part. But the shots still came out good.

Night four: the corona

This was the best aurora of the whole trip. We were sitting on the bean bags when Misha burst into the house and called everyone outside. The aurora was visible without any night mode: it stretched across the whole sky and shimmered in different colours. At one point a “corona” appeared, when the aurora seems to sparkle out of a single point. Anya and I simply squealed with delight.

Night five: in the background

On the last evening we stood by the fire with a watermelon and champagne, and a light aurora hung above us. No longer the main event, but a backdrop to the farewell evening. Not bad either.

How not to miss it

• Shoot in night mode. A faint aurora looks like a grey haze to the eye, while the camera shows colour.
• Agree that someone will call you. For us it was almost always Misha who spotted the aurora first, our photographer, who shot the sky at night. Without him we’d have missed the best nights. By the way, he has really cool shots of the northern lights. Take a look at his Instagram.
• Wait until after 11 p.m. The aurora didn’t start for us any earlier.
• Don’t stay up too late. The brightest part doesn’t last long: on the night after the plateau we went out late and missed the main part.
• Dress warmly. In September it was usually 6–10 degrees at night, and on the coldest night down to zero. You can stand and look at the sky for a long time.
• Be ready to run out at any moment. The aurora came when we were about to go to sleep or sitting around talking.