NIGHTFALL
The Milky Way arching over a white observatory dome on a rocky plateau at night, a sea of cloud and orange afterglow on the horizon
SC. 01 — 22:47 · Alt 1,860 m

Come closer to the dark

A dark-sky lodge and public observatory at 1,860 metres: guided nights at the telescope, astrophotography and six stone cabins with skylights.
Sierra del Alba, Spain
Open February to November

The night is not empty. It is alive.

Above the Sierra del Alba the valley lights fall away. Six cabins, one dome, and no street lights on the plateau.

SC. 02 — Tonight's sky · an example night in October
  1. The sun just set behind layered mountain ridges, an orange glow under a dark sky

    21:30

    Sunset glow

    Alt −0.8° Az 276°

  2. Saturn and its rings on a black sky

    22:15

    Saturn rises

    Alt 12.4° Az 136°

  3. The Andromeda galaxy, a tilted spiral of light among faint stars

    23:40

    Andromeda overhead

    Alt 78.1° Az 32°

  4. The bright core of the Milky Way with dark lanes of dust

    01:10

    Milky Way core

    Alt 62.3° Az 198°

SC. 03 — Sessions

Three ways into the night.

Every session is led by an astronomer at the dome. Choose an evening at the telescope, a night with your camera or a whole weekend under the plateau's sky.
A man pointing up at the Milky Way beside a woman looking up, on a hillside at night

Evening

Night-sky session

€38per person
2.5 hours: the sky by eye, through binoculars and through the dome telescope.
  • A guided tour of the sky by eye
  • Binoculars for every guest
  • Time at the 0.6 m telescope
View session
A photographer at a camera on a tripod aiming at the Milky Way over mountains

Workshop

Astrophotography workshop

€145per person
One night. Bring your camera; we bring the sky and the know-how.
  • Long exposures and tracking
  • Stacking and editing the next morning
  • Time at the 0.6 m telescope
View workshop
A stone cabin with lit windows on a rocky slope, red path lights leading to it under the Milky Way

Weekend

Dark-sky weekend

€520for two
Two nights in a stone cabin, two sessions at the dome and dinner.
  • Two nights in a cabin with a skylight
  • Two night-sky sessions
  • Dinner and breakfast
View weekend

Sessions are moved when the sky is cloudy · Open February to November

SC. 04 — The dome · 0.6 m telescope

Under the open slit, Saturn is close enough to count its rings.

Dr. Mateo IbarraAstronomer, Nightfall
SC. 05 — At a glance
0.6m
Telescope
1,860m
Altitude
6
Cabins
0
Street lights
SC. 06 — The cabins

Sleep beneath an open sky.

From €190 a night with breakfast for two. Six stone cabins, a skylight above every bed, a terrace of your own.

A skylight above the bed

From €190 a night
A bed with white linen under a large skylight full of stars in a stone-walled cabin, a small lamp glowing

Each cabin has a wide skylight over the bed, so the night carries on after the session.

Six stone cabins

Six cabins
Small stone cabins with lit windows on a rocky slope at night under circular star trails, red lights along the path

Built from the plateau's own stone along a lit path to the dome, red lamps only, so eyes stay used to the dark.

Breakfast for two

Included
A wooden table set with coffee, bread and fruit on a stone terrace at dawn, a sea of cloud below the mountains

Served on your private stone terrace in the morning, with the cloud usually still lying in the valley below.

Dome session access

Every night
Inside the observatory dome: a woman at the eyepiece of a large telescope in red light, the Milky Way through the open slit

Guests in the cabins join the evening's session at the dome; a dark-sky weekend includes two.

SC. 07 — Workshops

Make the dark visible.

One night, your camera, the sky properly seen: focus at infinity, long exposures, tracking and stacking. €145.
A red and pink emission nebula among blue stars
01Emission nebula
A crescent moon with sharp craters along its terminator
02The terminator
Concentric star trails circling the celestial pole
03Star trails
A diagonal band of the Milky Way, dense with stars and dust
04Milky Way
Saturn and its rings, small in a dark frame
05Saturn
A comet with a green head and a long pale tail across a field of stars
06A comet

€145 · one nightBring your own camera and tripodMoved when the sky is cloudy

Request a workshop
SC. 08 — Your hosts

The people after dark.

Four of us run the lodge, the dome and the kitchen.
Portrait of Dr. Mateo Ibarra, a bearded astronomer in a dark jacket, looking up in red light beside a telescope
Dr. Mateo Ibarra
Astronomer
Runs the dome and every session at the telescope.
Portrait of Clara Soler smiling as she plates food in a kitchen lit by soft red light
Clara Soler
Host & cook
Looks after the cabins, the dinners and the breakfasts.
Portrait of Iker Ruiz in a beanie looking up at the night sky, a red lamp glowing behind him
Iker Ruiz
Night guide
Walks guests along the plateau and through the sky by eye.
Portrait of Pau Serra checking the screen of a camera on a tripod in red light under the stars
Pau Serra
Astrophotographer
Leads the workshops, from the first exposure to the stack.
SC. 09 — Guest log

Voices after dark.

  • A woman in a hood sitting on a rock under the Milky Way, a lit stone cabin beside her
    Elena, Madrid
    I had never seen the Milky Way with my own eyes before that night.
  • A man seen from behind sitting on a rock under the Milky Way above the mountains
    Jonas, Berlin
    The silence between the stars felt as big as the sky.
  • A woman in a beanie looking up at the stars, the lit observatory dome behind her
    Amina, Lyon
    Mateo found Saturn for my daughter. She has not stopped talking about the rings.
SC. 10 — Practical notes

Before the lights go out.

Sessions are moved when the sky is cloudy. We write to you with the next clear date.

Request a night.

Open February to November. Choose your offer and tell us who is coming; we reply by email with the dates that are free.
Season
February to November
Phone
+34 950 555 162
Camino del Mirador km 4, Sierra del Albastars@nightfall.example

We use your details only to answer your request. More in our privacy notice.

A walker with a red torch on a rocky ridge under the Milky Way and a meteor, the lit dome and cabins on the right

The dark is waiting.

Book a night
Sierra del Alba, Spain