These Flight Routes Give You The Best Chance Of Spotting A Rainbow From Your Window Seat

Rainbows — everybody loves them. Whether it's a leprechaun hiding a pot of gold at the end, or a Greek messenger god moving between heaven and Earth, these multi-colored light displays have inspired myth and folklore for millennia. The fact that we now know they're actually water droplets bending and splitting light into different colors hasn't stopped the superstitions, either. Nope, airplane pilots apparently believe that jetting across a rainbow blesses the journey and brings positive vibes.

So, if you like your high-altitude travels with a side of good luck (who doesn't?), you might be interested to learn that there are a select few routes that crank up the chances of flying through a rainbow. The findings come courtesy of a collab between Wingbits — one of the world's burgeoning big-data flight trackers — and a leading atmospheric physicist. They put together a combo of weather data and flight paths to reveal the connections that have the highest rainbow rates, if you will.

You probably won't be shocked to learn that the most rainbow-ready route of all whizzes right above the great Niagara Falls, where the natural phenomenon is known to occur on an almost daily basis. Other flights will take you to equally as tempting corners of the country and beyond. There are the ones that go above the vast Owens Valley, the wondrous home of the cinematic Alabama Hills, and others that jet across the Alps to the living fairytale of a city that is Dubrovnik.

Calling all rainbow buffs — there's one route that stands out from the crowd here. It hops from the U.S. capital to the biggest city in Canada, giving the overall highest chance of seeing a rainbow from the window.

Specifically, you'll need to jet out of the Dulles International Airport, which is actually located over in the state of Virginia, to the west of D.C., and land in Toronto's smaller Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, which sits on an island just a short distance from downtown. Why such a clear-cut start and end point, you ask? It's all about ensuring that your flight path goes right above Niagara Falls, a feat achieved by Canada's own Porter Airlines on their daily link between the two metropolises.

Jetting overhead there, you'll be able to gaze down on America's oldest state park, where the iconic Horseshoe Falls hit heights of 188 feet as they plunge into the Lower Niagara River. They're a veritable rainbow factory, since they send consistent plumes of mist into the air, often creating multiple rainbows at once.

The second most rainbow-heavy route identified by the data is one that whisks you far away from the stars and stripes. In fact, you'll need to trade the states altogether and head over to the English capital of London — a tempting prospect, since this loveable European vacation destination has been named the world's "best city for 2025."

See the sights, snap selfies outside of Buckingham Palace, and catch a show on the West End. Then, head for Heathrow Airport to hitch a ride on the flight to Croatia's Dubrovnik. They're run by the UK's award-winning flag carrier, British Airways, and take just shy of three hours from take-off to landing.

Along the way, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for the moment you cross the Italian border. That's when Lago di Carezza may just come into view. It's a shimmering lake set nearly 5,000 feet up in the peaks of the South Tyrol. They call it the "Lake of Rainbows" for the varying hues of its water, but, according to the findings, it's also a way marker on a flight route that offers real rainbows aplenty.

The 650-odd-mile route between Arizona's Valley of the Sun and the tech-heavy home of the Golden Gate Bridge over in San Francisco crosses one of the U.S.'s rainbow hotspots. You'll want to peer out of the window roughly two-thirds of the way between the two towns, because that's when the plane cuts a line through the Owens Valley of California.

Aside from hosting the legendary high mountain and desert highway of the 395, and the eye-watering fall foliage shows of the Inyo National Forest, the Owens Valley is also a hotspot for rainbow viewers, from both ground and sky level.

Apparently, it's all down to the regular stream of storm systems that move through the region come the summer months. And the rainbows are just one jaw-dropping feature of the valley, what with the soaring 14,000-plus-foot peak of Mount Whitney towering on one side and the sun-cracked flats of Death Valley National Park rolling out on the other. Talk about spectacular views from your seat on the plane!

If you're dreaming of seeing the northern lights, bubbling away in hot springs under the shadow of volcanoes, or hiking glacial ice sheets, then this final route might be the ticket to rainbow viewing you've been waiting for.

It's not a long one, and you can pick from plenty of airlines, including low-cost carriers like easyJet and premium flag carriers such as Icelandair and British Airways. The trip whisks you out of the English capital, flies for around three hours, and then drops you into the Keflavík International Airport, the main aviation hub serving the island nation of Iceland.

Keep the shutters up, folks, for somewhere along the way you'll do a fly-by on the Isle of Skye. It's a fragment of western Scotland that's shrouded in myths and legends. The breathtaking landscapes of Skye — which include babbling fairy pools and dagger-like mountains — will surely look wondrous from above, especially when coupled with a unique regional microclimate that can create double-up rainbows and whatnot!