Teruel wants to position itself as a tourist destination during the 2026 eclipse

The Teruel Provincial Council has invited the town councils and regions of the province of Teruel to take advantage of these days in August, from the 10th to the 13th, to locate optimal viewing spaces for observing the next solar eclipse in August 2026. “The province of Teruel has been doing a great job for years around astronomical tourism, with specific infrastructures, international recognition and specialized programs, but the eclipse is a great opportunity to position Teruel as a benchmark ,” said the Tourism deputy, Marta Sancho.

For this reason, the provincial institution has sent a letter to all town councils and regions to invite them to take advantage of these days in August, coinciding with the period in which the solar eclipse is expected in 2026, to prepare ideal spaces for observation .

Thus, it is recommended that they be high and flat places with views to the West free of obstructions such as hills , mountains or groves and without towns in sight , since the public lighting when turned on when the sun has completely set can spoil the observation . In addition, it is advisable that they have good access , with an optimal state of the roads and if they allow access by normal car. It is also recommended to take into account that there is parking available , safeguarding the observation area, as well as that there is mobile coverage .

Among the issues that are recommended to be taken into account is also evaluating whether there are other facilities such as water , electricity, seats or a picnic area , garbage containers or a hut nearby. In addition, it is good to choose places that do not have risks of forest fires , possible contaminants or other nearby risks.

Once again, it is important not to look directly at the sun , as this can cause serious eye injuries. And even less so with binoculars or telescopes due to the magnifying effect. You can look towards the sun but never directly, fixing your eyes on it.

Given that the eclipse will take place in August , the day of observation can be completed with multiple cultural and tourist events, as Marta Sancho explained, such as an evening of observation of the Perseids . Therefore, other conditions must also be taken into account, such as food stalls, toilet areas, public address systems or illuminated beacons along the way.

The letter also recommends , in order to promote the astronomical event and to meet the media’s demand for information, collecting other data on the observation sites at 8:30 p.m. between August 10 and 13, such as the location of the site using screenshots from Google Maps, IGN Maps of Spain or GPS position.

It is also advisable to make a sketch of the terrain and how to get there, have 360º videos and photos of the horizon towards the point of the Eclipse (285º of the compass (West-Northwest) and 5º of elevation). With a clear horizon and with a person 10 meters from the person taking the photo to reference the sizes .

SPREAD THIS SUMMER

At the initiative of astrotourism professionals from the province of Teruel and Starlight monitors , an awareness campaign has been launched on social networks where the aforementioned photos and videos can be uploaded explaining that “from here, in exactly two years, where we see the Sun , the eclipse of August 12, 2026 will occur and we will contemplate it …”. All of this using the hashtag #eclipseteruel .

On the other hand, there are other informative campaigns on social networks such as the III “Sunset” Photography Contest of the Eclipse262728 Association, which can be found on its website.

The provincial institution also reminds that for any questions, town councils can contact the Centre for Cosmos Physics Studies of Aragon (Cefca), astrotourism professionals or Starlight accommodation in the province of Teruel .

A TOURIST OPPORTUNITY

The province of Teruel is going to be one of the best places in the world to see the total solar eclipse of August 12, 2026. Much of Aragon and the entire territory of the province of Teruel are located in the band of totality , which is the optimal line of visibility and which marks the places where you can enjoy total darkness for a few minutes, it will cross the northern half of the national territory . Specifically, it will enter Spain through the Cantabrian Sea and reach the Mediterranean coasts .

The complete occultation of the Sun will occur at sunset . Specifically, in our province around 8:30 p.m. on August 12, 2026. The Moon will completely hide the Sun for approximately a minute and a half (it will be nighttime) although the partial occultation spectacle will begin at approximately 7:30 p.m., with a total overall duration of the eclipse of 2 hours.

As experts predict and taking into account the impact that a similar eclipse had recently (last April) in Mexico and the USA, it is estimated that thousands of people from Europe and other parts of the world will choose Teruel and travel to our municipalities to contemplate the astronomical event .

This fact poses important challenges and opportunities in terms of tourism , security, transport, dissemination , civil protection, etc. Therefore, the different institutions are working to maximize the benefits of the event, while minimizing the possible inconveniences and risks.