FOR the first time in 114 years, Spain will see a total solar eclipse in August this year.
For the first time in 114 years, Spain will witness a total solar eclipse this August.
The Iberian Peninsula last saw a total eclipse in 1912, making the 2026 event a rare, once-in-a-lifetime spectacle for residents and visitors alike.
Around 8:30pm on August 12, 2026, the phenomenon will cast a shadow over Spanish towns located in the path of totality – the narrow area where total darkness is visible – for roughly 90 seconds.
Eclipse watchers are advised to secure an unobstructed view to the west, as the sun will be nearing the horizon at that time.
This detailed path of totality map shows which areas will be plunged into darkness.
READ MORE: Tourism frenzy in rural Spain as 10 million solar eclipse seekers book up for August
The path of totality spans a staggering 290 kilometers of the Iberian peninsula and is set to sweep across 13 of Spain’s autonomous communities, and a slither of northeast Portugal.
In the north, major cities will descend into darkness for over a minute.
A Coruña will experience around one minute and 16 seconds of total darkness starting at 8.27pm.
Gijon will see one minute and 45 seconds of darkness, while in Oviedo the city will be enveloped in darkness for one minute and 48 seconds – just shy of the maximum duration in Spain.
The Asturian town, Luarca, is expected to experience one minute and 50 seconds of total darkness – the longest period of totality in Spain.
Bilbao, Spain’s fifth-largest city, lies at the edge of the path and will spend 29 seconds in the shadows.
Further south, Valencia will go dark for one minute at about 8.32pm, while Palma will experience one minute and 32 seconds of darkness as the path sweeps across the Mediterranean.
Meanwhile, Madrid and Barcelona, Spain’s most populous cities, narrowly miss the path.
However, the major cities will both experience partial eclipses.
Many madrileños plan to race northward in the evening to see the full eclipse in all its glory while barcelones will travel south down the coast to catch a glimpse of the phenomenon.
Andalucia also misses out on a full eclipse, but will experience a partial eclipse.
The province, however, will experience a full eclipse just under a year later.
A total eclipse dubbed the ‘Eclipse of the Century’ is set to submerge North Africa and southern Spain in darkness for up to four minutes on August 2, 2027.
Spain is preparing for an influx of ‘astrotourism’ with the government predicting that 10 million people could travel to rural Spain to witness the once-in-a-lifetime sensation
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