Norway is home to some of the most remote and dramatic destinations in the world, complete with the Northern Lights, stunning fjords and remote islands.

The Scandinavian country is one of the few states located within the Arctic Circle. The island of Spitsbergen is 660 kilometers from the mainland.

This remote area is home to only 2,900 permanent residents, most of whom are researchers or miners working in the island’s mining outposts.

The island’s unique location in the Arctic makes it an academic centre, attracting scientists to the capital Longyearbyen to do fieldwork and study at the university.

Svalbard is considered one of the safest places in the world, with virtually no violent crime. However, the island is also home to the largest population of predators in the Arctic.

There are about 270 polar bears on the 38,000 km2 island. Polar bear attacks are so dangerous that locals cannot venture outside their settlements without a gun to defend themselves.

The island is also home to the Svalbard reindeer, a separate subspecies, and other endangered mammals such as the Arctic fox.

In addition to rare animals, Spitsbergen also houses a cryptic secret: the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. This vault contains seeds for food crops all over the world.

The vault opened in 2008 and was intended as an emergency safe facility in the event of a global food shortage.

The facility stores seeds in a controlled environment and can store up to 4.5 million seed samples.

Spitsbergen is a prime location for the facility. Samples are stored underground in the freezing -18°C vault, protected under 100 m of permafrost and thick rock.

As the northernmost point you can fly to on a scheduled flight, the vault is both remote and accessible.

Due to contemporary conflicts, seeds are being stored in the vault. In 2015, researchers began sending seeds from Syria to the vault due to the ongoing civil war.

Individual countries or seed banks send samples for storage. Seed pods are stored under black-box conditions, meaning that only depositors can withdraw their own seeds.

The island was formerly a whaling centre, but the practice was banned by the Svalbard Treaty of 1920. Revenue is now derived from mining and tourism. Visitors to Spitsbergen can enjoy exotic outdoor activities such as kayaking in the Arctic waters, hiking through glacier caves and dog sledding.