Calar Alto Observatory — Attraction in Gérgal

Fantastic views on the way to the summit and from the summit itself. I was in December and it was icy on top, which made the experience even more exciting, passing from 20 degrees in Almería capital to nearly zero in just an hour and a half. I recommend to visit the place when the sunset is, since the sky colours and the outline of the surrounding mountains give you the opportunity of enjoying one of the best views in the province of Almería. This is one of the best places in Europe to gaze at the stars and the Spanish and German governments have some space observatories, so if you want to feel tiny, stay for a bit longer, look up and be amazed with the stars at night.

Calar Alto is a famous mountain pass and it's been the finish line in La Vuelta a España several times. The whole climbing from Aulago (27 km) is indicated with signs showing the distance to the summit and the maximum and minimum gradient per kilometre. If you like cycling and you are in Almería you must come here and try 😁. To come down you can just continue the road in a circular route that finishes in Gérgal. The whole route deserve every penny of petrol you...

Wow! We loved our pre-booked morning tour with Sol, an Astro Physicist working with Azimuth. She was friendly, enthusiastic, professional, helpful, constantly checking that the group didn't have any additional questions. Her Spanish too was easy to understand (for a non-native Spanish speaker, like myself). The 30 minute introductory talk was brilliant. Then the talk outside the domes were very interesting. The opportunity to go inside the largest - 3.5 metre mirror - dome was a unique and wonderful experience. It was absolutely fascinating. I would highly recommend this to everyone.

Also, I had booked a night event through Azimuth for the night before. It was cancelled due to the weather forecast showing that there may be cloud cover. Both the man on the phone and Sol were extremely apologetic that it had to be cancelled. Of course, the weather is entirely out of their control but I really appreciated how they were so apologetic and how they made me feel - like someone that mattered. I will definitely rebook that. Ten out of ten for customer service.

I love Calar Alto...

The province of Almería is the sunniest driest place in Spain. It also has the cleanest atmosphere in Europe and hardly any cloud making it an ideal location for installing an observatory.

Calar Alto, at an altitude of 2,168 metres (7,113 feet), is the highest mountain in Almería and was, therefore chosen as the location for an astronomical observatory. Called, appropriately enough, the Calar Alto Observatory, it is owned and operated jointly by Max-Planck institute for astronomy and the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalucía.

It was officially opened in July 1975 with the commissioning of its 1.2 metre telescope. The site has developed due to the strong ties between the German and Spanish owners and 4 more telescopes have been installed - the largest being 3.5 metres.

The Calar Alto mountaintop is situated in the Sierra de los Filabres, north of the town of Gérgal. It is a pleasant place to walk on a summer's day, as the temperature is several degrees cooler than down...