Last night I visited Roque de Los Muchachos again – this time in the dark. For me, driving up all the mountain from Tijarafe in the dark is quite exhausting. In fact you make countless left- and right-turns on your way up. This evening I didn’t meet a single car on the whole road to the top. Since the road to Roque de Los Muchachos is closed after 7pm one cannot drive up to the real top. However, there are a few possibilities where one can park the car. Still I think it makes sense to see the whole area at least once at daytime since it is really really dark up there 🙂 When I parked the car, switched off the light and stepped out the car I first saw nothing at all (when I was there it was around new moon)…

Beside the fact that it was damn cold up there it was still absolutely fascinating to have a free 360° view of the dark clear sky. After my eyes got used to the darkness I started to walk around and take some photos.

I also recorded a short time-lapse video of the MAGIC telescope. It is that short since it became quite cold after a while 😀 For me it was absolutely worth to drive up there to experience Roque de Los Muchachos at night. And I think later in the year when the milky way raises earlier in the night it will even be better!

Clear skies!

Last updated: July 23, 2022 at 13:02 pm