Vinhais, Portugal, July 23, 2026 (Lusa)- Accommodation is fully booked for the night of the solar eclipse in the municipality of Vinhais, in the heart of the Montesinho Natural Park, where the eclipse will be close to 100%, the local council revealed on Thursday; it will be providing certified eclipse glasses for visitors.

According to the Mayor of Vinhais, Luís Fernandes, local accommodation throughout the municipality, the town's hotel and the Biological Park are fully booked, and the tourist information centre has been receiving a higher volume of enquiries.

«There is demand, and people want to know where they can stay and how they can make their way to Vinhais on that day,» he said.

The solar eclipse is causing accommodation to sell out in the two municipalities of the Montesinho Natural Park. As well as Vinhais experiencing high demand from visitors, as the eclipse in this area will be around 99% total, accommodation in Bragança has also been fully booked for months, as the total eclipse will occur in two villages in this municipality, Rio de Onor and Guadramil, at around 7:30 p.m., lasting 26 seconds.

In view of the demand, the municipality of Vinhais is considering a strategy to publicise this rare phenomenon, which will take place on 12 August in Portugal for the first time in over 100 years.

With the aim of «boosting the municipality's economy», Mayor Luís Fernandes announced that the municipality will purchase and distribute certified viewing glasses, the only safe way to look up at the sky and witness the moment when the Earth, the Moon and the Sun will be aligned, and the Moon will totally or partially obscure the Sun's disc for a few moments.

ANYP/ADB // ADB.

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