Situated at latitude 79.5 degrees on Spitzbergen this small research facility is the most Northerly permanantly populated place on Earth, a little over 700 miles from the North Pole. The town comprises a series of old and new huts, with a power plant, fuel storage, a small air port, 1 Hotel (The Polar Hotel), and a shop/post office with a small museum. The largest aircraft flying in is a twin Dornier Turboprop from Svarlbard, most people visit on Cruise liners.The town houses about 200 scientists and support staff dwindling to about 35 glacioligists, metrologists, atsronomers and oceanographers are in the depth of winter There is not so much to see but take in the breathtaking beauty of the glaciers and sea ice. You must (Yes MUST) stick only to the tracks because of the danger of Polar Bears, the bird life including Artic Terns is prolific and you can get really close. Frankly the floating sea ice "Growlers" impressed me the most. Of course in summer there is the "Midnight Sun" so dont expect to see the Aurora unles you can get there in winter, but go if you can because I suspect soon this kind of area will be closed to tourists. I must just add that a group of fellow travellers dressed in Penguin "Onesies" they bought and larked around making I think the whole town laugh out loud.
My first taste of Norway, we arrived at the port with no organised trip booked. we boarded the mini train for a trip from the port up to Eagle Bend with spectacular views of the town and islands. This was a great way to see the views and took us to see all the best that Alesund had to offer. had a fantastic ice cream at the summit. Stunning.
This quaint little research village is situated at the base of spectacular snow covered mountains. Just watch out for polar bears!
We stopped over this place during our cruise trip to the North. The dock was near to town centre and a visit to the higher level of Mt. Aklacould could enable us to reach a fantastic viewpoint in takint good photos over this seaport..
It was amazing to think that we were at the top of the world.No villages between us and the North Pole!Very welcoming.Had to stick to strict pathways to avoid damage to the environment.Unfortunately - it rained!
After weeks of sailing into the wild of the arctic and circumnavigate Spitzbergen, you can imagine how it was to land on a scientific and research base ! June was total midnight sun and saturday eve the only night where the Mellageret Bar is opening for residents. Berthing our Schooner in the port, clearing immigration, asking for permit to enter the bar to Port Authority officier (no joke)... granted ! We then walked to one of the best and genuine party we had for years... All and everybody was northernmost, great R&R band (scientists were well rocking the place)... went back upon closing at 2:30am... met stunning and very surprising people... Excellent fun. Superb memory. Lucky we had access ! Thank you NyAlesund people.
We visited Ny Alesund when our cruise ship stopped for a few hours on the way back from the polar pack ice. Winter snow remained in early July although it was melting rapidly and the birds were busy rearing young. This is an active research station with scientists coming and going from the dock constantly. The various buildings that are all raised off the ground due to permafrost house scientists from different countries. The building for the Chinese scientists even has lion statues out front. The settlement was initially established to mine coal. While there is a population boom in the summer with about 130 residents on site, we were told that the numbers dwindle to 30 people in the cold and sunless winter. There is little to do given that visitors must stay on the road as they walk about the small settlement. For some the highlight of the stop was mailing postcards from the most northerly settlement in the world. For us, it was taking in the stark beauty and feel of the place. We felt privileged to visit such a remote and beautiful location.
We visited Ny Alesund on a cruise and feel honoured to have had the experience, there is not much on the Island but it certainly makes up for it with its stark beauty, the day we visited it was only 4 degrees C and sleeting but it didn't take away the beauty of the place, we posted our postcards at the most northerly post box, the souvenir shop is well stocked and coped well with the hundreds from the cruise ship. We didn't see polar bears but plenty of other wildlife, apparently there had been a polar bear in the village the week previous. Real respect for the scientists that live there.
We arrived on the Silverseas Explorer. Short tender to the dock and walk 500 yards to the center of town. A few buildings, post office and nice gift shop, but the most interesting was chatting up some of the few International residents doing research. There was a team of dogsled dogs barking and the largest, newest earth mover ( I am sure for snow) that I have ever seen. Well worth getting off the ship and having a walk around.
Famous for the launching of airships to the North Pole - set in wonderful scenery and across the bay from NY London. Take your passport to the old post office as you can stamp it yourself. Well stocked gift shop and some pretty buildings but you have to be careful of polar bears f you go the airship tower.