Stellarium Ávila is the collective Astrotourism brand promoted by the Diputación Provincial de Ávila (Provincial Government of Ávila) to cover all the astrotourism activities, promotion and development in the districts of the province as well as the protection of the dark sky and of biodiversity by reducing light pollution.
Stellarium Ávila came into being with presence at national and international level in order to be the reference point for Astrotourism in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, covering not just the setting of the Sierra de Gredos Regional Park and the Valle de Iruelas Natural Park, which signed up to ECST (the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism) in 2009, but also the five districts making up the province of Ávila.
The night sky of the province of Ávila, and more specifically that of the Gredos Regional Park, presents characteristics of low light pollution, so it preserves its purity, thereby guaranteeing its environmental, cultural educational, scientific and socio-economic ecosystem service. To date (2023), in the regional of Castile and León, only the territory corresponding to the Gredos Regional Park has achieved the prestigious Starlight Reserve certification, awarded by the Starlight Foundation, the body created by the Canarian Institute of Astrophysics, and endorsed by UNESCO and the World Tourist Organisation, among other international organisms.
Recognised in 2013 as a Starlight Tourist Destination, the sky of Gredos achieved the certificate as a Starlight Reserve on 27th November, 2020; this is the highest accolade the Starlight Foundation can award.
