The Inuit stayed away. Even today, as tourists enjoy daily air service from Oslo, just 2,500 people live here year-round, many working in Svalbard's coal mines. Winter brings perpetual darkness.

The ice-locked land is freed from the grips of winter, and Svalbard becomes the land of the midnight sun. Svalbard consists of five main islands, Spitsbergen, Nordaustlandet, Edgeøya and ...

and the allure of endless summer days and total darkness in the winter. In recent years, Svalbard has attracted a more mainstream traveler. More package tours became available, and many more ...