La Rioja

La Rioja will experience the beginning of the eclipse cycle from the front row. The autonomous region enjoys a privileged location for the 2026 event: being fully within the path of totality, it will become a setting where astronomy will be paired with the rich cultural and natural heritage of the region.

12 August 2026 will be the date etched in history. The total will cover 100% of the territory of La Rioja. There will be no halfway corners: from the Sierra de la Demanda to the riverside of the Ebro River, night will come all of a sudden just minutes before sunset. Logroño will be one of the best placed European capitals to watch the eclipse, with the solar corona shining directly over the city. But the most sought-after image will be in the countryside: watching the moon's shadow dim the golden evening light over the vineyards in Haro or Rioja Alavesa (neighbouring and sharing conditions) will be a first-rate aesthetic experience.

In the following chapters of the Iberian Trio, La Rioja will become a quiet spectator. On both 2 August 2027 and 26 January 2028, the eclipses will be experienced as partial eclipses. The 2028 event, although the full ring will not be seen at this latitude, will offer a different kind of winter sunset, with the partially visible sun setting behind the mountain ranges of the Iberian System, bringing calm back to a region that will have shone brightly (or rather, darkly) two years earlier.