The Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis, is a spectacular light show that only some very lucky travellers get to experience.

But if you do see them, consider yourself extremely fortunate because this beautiful natural light show is like nothing you've ever seen before.

The lights can be experienced in the northern hemisphere, close to the Polar Regions. This aurora zone extends over northern Scandinavia, the southern tip of Greenland, Canada, Alaska and along the northern coast of Siberia. Many towns and countries deem themselves as the "best for the northern lights", and travellers wishing to see the natural beauty usually have a tough time deciding where exactly to go.

It's a difficult decision, you wouldn't want to travel all the way to be disappointed and miss out on the show, and you're already taking a gamble as the lights don't promise to shine every night.

I chose "the capital of the Arctic", the closest city to the wilderness which is also the largest town in northern Norway, Tromso.

Tromso boasts high mountain tops, stunning fjords, long winter darkness, the midnight sun and of course, the northern lights - if you're lucky.

If you want to capture nature's very own theatre unfold above you, be sure you book at least three nights in your city of choice.

We stayed in Tromso for three nights, and on two of those nights, we had northern lights tours booked.

The preparation for the lights is more involved than some think. Firstly, be sure you're well rested as you could be out in the cold until the very early hours of the morning. Secondly, ensure you're well fed, while snacks and warm drinks are usually provided during the tour, you will need a hearty meal to keep you going - especially when the chill factor reaches below -5 degrees. Thirdly, and probably most importantly, wear many layers and bring extras. Thermals, mittens and good snow boots will be your saviour.

Another piece of important information I can give you northern light hopefuls, is make sure you have a good DSLR camera and know the basic settings. While the memories you have of the lights can never be overridden, there's nothing worse than not having the perfect pictures to show your friends this natural sensation.

The tours usually start at about 6pm and from there on in, you sit with your fingers and toes crossed, hoping you haven't travelled all this way for nothing.

Our second night is when the magic happened. We were taken to the outskirts of Tromso, with the Arctic Ocean in front of us and snow-topped mountains behind us.

It was here that we saw nature in her fullest form, as fluorescent green lights glided across the sky above us. We were joined by the blasts of killer whales' breathing through their blow holes as they came to surface for air.

The dazzling lights lit up the sky in bursts and at times, the intensity was so strong, the reflection illuminated the ocean. We stood in awe of our surroundings with the thumps of humpback whales in the background.

We moved to another location, this time, in the depth of the mountains, with knee-deep snow and wind that chilled each and every bone.

It was here that we experienced the true magic of the northern lights. After a few hours of little to no activity, we were all given the surprise of our lives.

The entire sky around us became alive in seconds.

Fluorescent greens, blues and even reds and pinks illuminated the sky and did what tour guides call "danced" around us. There's no other way to explain it - a dance of lights was happening above us and it was spectacular.

I can't tell you how long the show lasted, it was long enough for us to take photos and lay in the snow watching nature's most amazing display directly above us.

Words don't do the phenomenon justice. It truly is a wonder of the world, and if you ever are lucky enough to see it, don't close your eyes for a second - you won't want to miss a thing.

By Dominica Sanda