La Frontera receives the certificate of Starlight Municipality

The westernmost town of Spain, La Frontera, on the island of El Hierro (Canary Islands), was officially certified as a Starlight Municipality, a distinction that certifies the quality of its night sky and means its consolidation as a destination for stargazing, in a ceremony held yesterday at the Town Hall and attended by the Mayor, the Councillor for Tourism and the Director of the Starlight Foundation.

The Starlight Foundation grants Starlight Municipality certification to small towns with celestial quality that seek to diversify their economy through the development of astrotourism, with the aim of promoting economic and sustainable growth of the territory and avoiding depopulation of the same. It is similar to what could be a Starlight Tourist Destination, but corresponds to a smaller territory that covers a single municipality.

During the ceremony, Mayor Pablo Rodríguez referred to "the importance of this certification for the path that has been taken by the municipal institution, unanimously, in 2019 - In reference to the adhesion to the "Starlight Declaration in defense of the night sky and the right to starlight"_, committing to the protection of this resource, and that opens a new door of multiple possibilities in the differentiation of the tourist destination that is La Frontera, while improving the quality of life of the people who live here. In addition, it commits us to continue implementing measures aimed at improving the quality of our skies, which ultimately means improving the quality of our environment".

In addition to explaining the origins of the Starlight Foundation, which was created by the Canary Islands astrophysicist in response to the need to preserve the night sky as a World Heritage Site, the Foundation's director, Antonia Varela, thanked the La Frontera City Council for its commitment to the values of Starlight. And she explained that "this project is the beginning of a new journey for the municipality, with a certification that puts it at the international forefront".

For her part, the Councillor for Tourism, Adelaida Gonzalez, has highlighted this certification with which, in addition to starting a new journey, the project "La Frontera Starlight. Counting Stars", financed with a grant from the Ministry of Tourism and Employment for the implementation of tourism products.

El Hierro is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and Geopark, and now, with the Starlight certification, the municipality of La Frontera also includes the protection of its sky.

La Frontera

La Frontera is a Spanish town and municipality located in the western part of the island of El Hierro, in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, autonomous community of the Canary Islands. On the shores of the Atlantic Ocean.

The richness of its vegetation, in the valley of El Golfo, makes the visitor can enjoy the magnificent laurel forests in the upper area, and the wonderful and surprising forest of Sabinas, whose peculiar shapes have been modeled for centuries by the violence of the winds and climatic conditions of the area.

The municipality of La Frontera is made up of the beautiful towns of Sabinosa and El Golfo, where along its cliffy coast you can find several natural pools that have been released for bathing.