Starlight accommodation: see the stars again… and stay the night
How long has it been since you looked at the sky in a place no light pollution ? Sometimes, or almost always, the darkness is an incentive. That is precisely what the Starlight Foundation stands for, that watches over our dark and starry sky, so that we do not remember to look up only when there is a shower of stars or full moon.
If you haven't heard of the Starlight Foundation and you like star tourism, you have already found what you have been looking for for a long time. Created in 2009 by the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands, it raises the need to value and protect the night sky as a necessary resource for life and as intangible heritage of humanity , which has meant a before and after in the scientific community. “It is the first time that heaven is spoken of as something that affects all aspects of our lives and from Starlight Foundation we are turning it into a powerful engine of sustainable economy”. Antonia Varela is the director of this non-profit foundation.
In 2010 they began to certify Starlight Tourist Destinations and Reserves. And in 2014, they began to choose places "with a good sky" in which to see the stars and stay the night: the Starlight Accommodations, a network of hotels and rural houses to practice astrotourism . All of them must commit to their Magna Carta, the Declaration of La Palma, on the Defense of the Night Sky and the Right to Starlight to propagate astronomical culture . To do this, the Starlight Foundation provides advice, training and technical assistance to acquire the necessary equipment (binoculars, telescopes and even the possibility of creating an observatory). Its objective with this valuable initiative is to empower local communities and raise awareness among tourists who arrive at the destination by generating activities and experiences not only in the accommodation, but also in their surroundings.
Stars in the Sierra de Gredos
There are already more than 70 accommodations certified by the Starlight Foundation and the list continues to grow: “The first was the Trout Point Lodge, in Canada. The next, the Spanish El Milano Real, in Hoyos del Espino (Ávila). And the last one was Parador of Ciudad Rodrigo . Precisely we have just certified the network of Paradores and the Salamancan joins the other three that were already on our list: the Parador de las Cañadas del Teide, in the heart of the Tenerife National Park, the Parador Naturia de Mazagón, in Huelva, and the Parador de Gredos”.
In Spain there are hotels like The Ibiza Twiins or the Eco Hotel Doña Mayor de Frómista (Palencia) or rural houses like Casa del Altozano, in the Sierra de Gredos, which was chosen Best Starlight Accommodation 2020 . And even a monastery, El Monasterio del Olivar, in Teruel or some bioclimatic cave houses in Granada : the Algarve Caves of Gorafe. “The astronomical-tourist complex Between oaks and stars, in the middle of the Extremadura meadow, It is another one that we always highlight, because it has the largest hosting of telescopes in Europe and the second in the world because this place, reserve Starlight, meets ideal astronomical conditions to house your telescope and control it remotely from anywhere in the world”.
Riad Ouzina
But the Starlight Foundation also certifies accommodation outside our borders, such as a riad in Morocco or a rural house in Peru.
Antonia tells us that there are already travelers who just want to go to Starlight Accommodations: “ they are quiet places, where you can contemplate the sky lying in a hammock and visit nearby observatories ”. And while we enjoy star tourism, the Starlight Foundation will continue to contribute ideas and seek solutions to preserve our starry sky, to have the night at night... and enjoy the gift that we have above our heads.
'Stargazing', or freak out with the stars