Visiting Svalbard was a dream coming true! Despite all the research I did and the videos I watched prior to the trip, I knew nothing would prepare me for how it felt to be this up north in this remote fascinating place. 

Where's Svalbard located? 

In case you missed our 'Foodie's Guide to the World's Northernmost City' , here is a reminder about Svalbard: 

It's a Norwegian archipelago covering the region between 74° to 81° north and 10° to 35° east. The largest settlement on Svalbard is Longyearbyen. It's the world's northernmost settlement with just a few thousand people and a few thousand polar bears.

Longyearbyen is the closest you can get to the North Pole. You will be exactly 1338km from the North Pole and 2313km from Oslo. 

60% of Svalbard is covered by glaciers.

Would you live in such remote place?

The moment I exited the small airport, it all felt very real. My arctic adventure was on! 

Layers of snow were covering the ground and everything in view, the wind was cold and harsh and the sky was a dim blue. This is known as the 'Blue Hour' which is the period between total darkness and light.

Svalbard was out of this world, it's so unique. And while I was in owe with the place and the people who choose to live there, I felt like I could never live in such remote and rugged place. 

Everyone I talked to in Longyearbyen love living there. A common theme I heard was how they came for a couple of months then stayed for years. Andrew, the guide who accompanied us to Mine3, is from Denmark. He moved to Svalbard for 3 months initially, he's been living there for 4 years now and his family joined him. 

The lady working in the museum is from the Netherlands. She moved to Svalbard because of her husband's job. She loves Svalbard and its nature. She told me that anyone who loves the outdoors, would find Svalbard as heaven. 

Unlike me, a young Austrian lady visiting with her mom told me that she would consider moving and living in Svalbard. 

People from different backgrounds and nationalities choose to make Svalbard their home. It is so fascinating. 

Experiencing arctic wilderness

Svalbard is one of the world's largest untouched wilderness areas. Many people visit Svalbard precisely to explore its rugged and untamed nature. I'm one of those people. 

As a serial hiker, I was very pleased to find out that Svalbard Wildlife Expeditions offers hiking tours combined with a visit to an ice cave.  

On the day of the hike, the weather wasn't ideal. It was very windy. A lot of tours were cancelled due to the bad weather conditions. We were assured that it was safe for our hike to take place as planned. 

From the starting point, it was obvious the hike was going to be challenging due to high wind and bad visibility. 

Conditions were so bad, a polar bear could've been just in front of us and we would've not seen it. And yes, I was anxious about polar bears before and during the trip! 

Other than the wind, the hike wasn't technical or challenging. Everyone in our group was an experienced fit hiker. We kept moving at a decent pace. 

 Once the wind calmed down, we were treated to stunning views of the majestic mountains covered in white with glaciers in the background. It felt like a mini arctic expedition.