The origin of Svalbard’s unique legal status may be traced to its role as a locus for commerce and trade centuries ago. Initially named Spitsbergen by the Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz in the ...

Cecilia Blomdahl moved to the Svalbard archipelago - near the North Pole - in 2015. Here she reveals the joys, challenges and surprises of life on one of the most remote islands in the world.

Here's what it was like to circumnavigate the Svalbard archipelago with Aurora Expeditions. By Jennifer Billock. Updated on July 31, 2024. Close. Credit: Lina Stock /Courtesy of Divergent Travelers.

Home to vast, frozen tundra and formidable glaciers, this Norwegian archipelago is a wildlife hotspot like no other. Here are five reasons to explore it on an expedition cruise.

When Svalbard Airport, world’s northernmost destination for scheduled commercial flights, was built, no one expected the permafrost its runway was built on would ever melt. Now it is, and that ...

A view of Spitsbergen Island in Norway's Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctic, with the main settlement of Longyearbyen, May 12, 2024. Didi Kirsten Tatlow ...

Polar bears outnumber humans in Svalbard. Polar bears, also known as the King of the Arctic, are not uncommon in the Svalbard archipelago and Barents Sea, according to tourism agency Visit ...

A view of the Esmarkbreen glacier on Spitsbergen island, part of the Svalbard archipelago in northern Norway, September 24, 2020. Picture taken with a drone on September 24, 2020.

Svalbard reindeer have been living on this archipelago for 5,000 years. Over that time, they have been very isolated from other populations of reindeer on mainland Europe .

Home to vast, frozen tundra and formidable glaciers, this Norwegian archipelago is a wildlife hotspot like no other. Here are five reasons to explore it on an expedition cruise.