If there is a special place for observing the sky this is the Pic du Midi Observatory, in the French Pyrenees. A 1.5 million visitor magnet a year, part of the Pyrenees National Park and the Unesco Pyrenees-Mont Perdu site, between France and Spain. The oldest mountain park in the world, built 150 years ago as a meteorological observatory, the Pic du Midi is an International Starry Sky Reserve, designated by the International Dark Sky Association which one does not come by chance: the location of an outpost with respect to the massif of The Pyrenees makes the air pure, stable, pollution-free, ideal for observing the Moon and stars. It is here that NASA, in 1963, installed the telescope that shot images of the Moon, the Photographic Lunar Atlas, which were used to prepare the Apollo missions. Equipped with domes (one equipped for observing the Sun), planetarium, a small museum, a scientific district, a restaurant and rooms that can accommodate up to 27 people per night, the Observatory is open to the public only since 2000, year of construction of the current cable car. Until 1952, it could be reached on foot or on the back of a donkey. Now, on summer evenings, the Observatory terrace also hosts tango evenings and concerts. From this year, a video on the constellations is projected in the Espace Expérience using 3D maps and animation elements. In the section of the Réserve Internationale de Ciel Etoilé the different starry skies of the reserve can be observed on 4 screens.
Arriving at the Pic du Midi from one of the countries in the valley is already a journey. In Beaudéan, the rag dolls called the Mounaques greet you: couples, old people, children seated on benches and window sills that remind us of the use of obstructing the loved one and the beloved one, before the engagement. It is in La Mongie that the pointed peaks of which the Pyrenees are made are beginning to be seen, granitic, less subject to erosion. Perfect for feeling in the clouds.
Night glacier safari
His figures are already mind-boggling. With a length of 23 km, an average width of 1,800 meters and an area of about 100 km², the Aletsch glacier still collects 27 billion tons of ice despite the climate changes. The icy masses extend from the northern slopes of the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau towards the valley bottom, in the Valais, until they flow out, into the Rhone through the wild Gorge of Massa. The glacier, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, is accessible by day, accompanied and well equipped. At night, we leave for the Photographic Safari on the Milky Way organized by photographer-guide Markus Eichenberger. The appointment is at 4 pm at the Panorama-Restaurant Bettmerhorn, the new generation panoramic hut reachable by cable car from the Bettemeralp car-free mountain resort. For the occasion (26-28 July, 1-4 August, 6-8 September) the refuge becomes a base camp. In a one-night workshop you learn to photograph the Moon, the stars and the constellations. On the frozen Aletsch arena, with the amphitheater of peaks reaching 4000 meters, light pollution is zero.
Sleeping: Panorama-Restaurant Bettmerhorn, Bettmeralp, CHF 400 workshop, dinner and overnight stay.
Arriving at the Pic du Midi from one of the countries in the valley is already a journey. In Beaudéan, the rag dolls called the Mounaques greet you: couples, old people, children seated on benches and window sills that remind us of the use of obstructing the loved one and the beloved one, before the engagement. It is in La Mongie that the pointed peaks of which the Pyrenees are made are beginning to be seen, granitic, less subject to erosion. Perfect for feeling in the clouds.
Night glacier safari
His figures are already mind-boggling. With a length of 23 km, an average width of 1,800 meters and an area of about 100 km², the Aletsch glacier still collects 27 billion tons of ice despite the climate changes. The icy masses extend from the northern slopes of the Eiger, the Mönch and the Jungfrau towards the valley bottom, in the Valais, until they flow out, into the Rhone through the wild Gorge of Massa. The glacier, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, is accessible by day, accompanied and well equipped. At night, we leave for the Photographic Safari on the Milky Way organized by photographer-guide Markus Eichenberger. The appointment is at 4 pm at the Panorama-Restaurant Bettmerhorn, the new generation panoramic hut reachable by cable car from the Bettemeralp car-free mountain resort. For the occasion (26-28 July, 1-4 August, 6-8 September) the refuge becomes a base camp. In a one-night workshop you learn to photograph the Moon, the stars and the constellations. On the frozen Aletsch arena, with the amphitheater of peaks reaching 4000 meters, light pollution is zero.
Sleeping: Panorama-Restaurant Bettmerhorn, Bettmeralp, CHF 400 workshop, dinner and overnight stay.