- Spain is one of the countries with the highest number of Starlight accreditations in the world, with certified skies in more than 40 provinces.
- CamperDays has selected four destinations in the Spanish mainland where autumn offers the best conditions of the year for enjoying the night sky.
When people think of starry skies in Spain, the Canary Islands are usually the first place that springs to mind, and with good reason, as the islands have been a global benchmark in astronomy for decades. What is less well known is that mainland Spain boasts a concentration of skies of exceptional quality that is hard to match in Europe, with Starlight Foundation accreditations — whose seal is endorsed by UNESCO and the World Tourism Organisation — spread across more than 40 Spanish provinces.
Astrotourism – travelling with the aim of enjoying the night sky – has been growing in Spain for years and is attracting an increasingly diverse range of travellers. You don’t need to know anything about astronomy or own a telescope: all you need to do is be in the right place on a clear night and look up. The rest takes care of itself.
Furthermore, autumn is the ideal season for astro-tourism, as the nights grow longer, the haze that clouds the summer skies clears, and the temperatures still allow you to spend a long time outdoors without feeling uncomfortable. What’s more, the end of summer clears the roads, campsites and viewing points, meaning there are fewer cars, fewer lights and fewer people.
CamperDays, the leading platform for motorhome and campervan hire, suggests four destinations on the Spanish mainland where the night is the reason for the trip and a campervan is the best way to experience it.
Four destinations on the Spanish mainland where the night is the reason for the trip
The Gúdar-Javalambre region (Teruel): where darkness is a heritage
If professional astronomers chose this corner of Teruel to set up an astrophysical observatory, that surely says something about what happens here when night falls. The Gúdar-Javalambre region, at the southern tip of the province, is probably the area with the highest concentration of Starlight-certified skies in the whole of Spain. It is not a destination designed for tourists: it is a place where the darkness is so profound that science makes use of it for research. And when you look up at night, you can really tell.
The villages in the region have overnight parking areas for motorhomes. Mora de Rubielos serves as a good base camp with designated parking. By day, the landscape changes completely, with medieval streets to wander through in silence, markets where truffles and seasonal mushrooms reign supreme, and a regional cuisine that is at its most authentic in autumn.
Montsec Mountains (Lleida): the Milky Way visible to the naked eye
This mountain range in the Lleida Pre-Pyrenees was one of the first areas in Catalonia to be awarded Starlight certification and is home to the Montsec Astronomy Park, which boasts one of the most comprehensive planetariums in southern Europe. But the real spectacle is outside, with no roof or entrance.
Camping La Noguera has pitches for motorhomes and serves as the perfect base camp. From there, the Mont-rebei Gorge and its footbridges carved into the rock above the River Noguera offer one of the most spectacular treks on the Iberian Peninsula to make the most of the daylight hours. Moreover, the culinary delights of the Pre-Pyrenees make the trip worthwhile even on cloudy nights, with artisan cheeses, mountain cured meats and Les Garrigues PDO olive oil.
Serranía de Cuenca: the destination nobody has on their radar
Hardly anyone thinks of Cuenca when they think of stars; yet it is a hidden gem for astro-tourism. The Serranía combines altitude, a very low population density and virtually no light pollution outside the capital. But what really sets it apart is what happens when the sun sets over its karst landscape, revealing formations that are already impressive by day but which, at night, illuminated only by a star-studded sky, are transformed into something else entirely. The area has designated motorhome sites from which it is easy to reach the observation points.
Sierra Morena (Jaén and northern Córdoba): Europe’s largest corridor of darkness
If there is one place on the Iberian Peninsula where you can truly experience the night, it is Sierra Morena. The area is home to Spain’s largest Starlight Reserve and one of the largest in the world, with a corridor of darkness stretching across entire regions between Jaén and northern Córdoba. The holm oak pastures, the distance between villages and the almost total absence of artificial light create conditions that are hard to find elsewhere in Western Europe.
There are campsites and viewing points in the surrounding area, although within the protected areas the restrictions are stricter and it is essential to use only authorised overnight parking areas as a base.
A quick guide to enjoying the night sky from your motorhome
- Choose the night before you choose your destination. Not all autumn nights are created equal. The phase of the moon changes everything, as a full moon floods the sky and obscures the faintest stars. The best nights are those around the new moon.
- Keep everything in complete darkness. The lights inside the campervan, the dashboard, your mobile screen. Your eyes need about twenty minutes to fully adapt to the darkness, and any flash of white light resets the process. Those twenty minutes of waiting, sitting in silence whilst the sky gradually ‘lights up’, are part of the experience.
- Take a red torch. So you can move about without losing that night-vision adaptation, as red light doesn’t interfere with your vision. Many headlamps already include this mode.
- Check cloud cover by altitude. The standard weather forecast isn’t enough. It’s important to consult more specific apps that show cloud cover at different altitudes, as this is what really determines whether the sky will be clear or not.
- A reclining chair and something warm. Standing up to gaze at the sky takes its toll on your neck after twenty minutes. A reclining camping chair, a blanket and a thermos flask with a hot drink are all you need for the night. No fuss, no faff. Just the sky and the weather.
Ultimately, astro-tourism in a campervan offers something few other travel experiences can match: the chance to park up, switch everything off and be alone with the sky. No timetables, no bookings, no walls. Just the road, the night unfolding, and the certainty that some of the finest spectacles have been up there all our lives, waiting for someone to stop and look.
About CamperDays
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CamperDays provides access to over 40,000 vehicles available for hire in more than 35 countries worldwide, including destinations such as Spain, Europe, Australia, the United States, Canada and South Africa. The platform allows customers to choose from a selection of trusted providers worldwide via a simple three-step booking process, with hire rates starting from just 100 euros a day.
Since its launch, CamperDays customers have booked over 1,000,000 nights in vehicles hired through the site. CamperDays offers access to a wide selection of motorhomes and caravans for all types of travellers, with transparent pricing and no hidden costs. All vehicles come with insurance, so hirers can enjoy a worry-free holiday. For more information or to make a booking, visit the website: https://www.camperdays.co.uk/
Source: ATREVIA Comunicación