Nightly Stargazing in Loreto

Staring up at the night sky is both an incredibly romantic experience for couples and a magical experience for kids, but in most cities, you’ll only see a few of the brightest stars if you’re lucky. However, there are a few places you can travel in the world that have both the comforts needed for a relaxing vacation and enough seclusion to make the stars visible. On the Baja Peninsula, Loreto has all the luxuries of a world-class destination with a brilliant night sky. Here, the Loreto stars twinkle all across a deep black velvet sky. While there are plenty of delicious restaurants and fun bars to head to in the evening, be sure to dedicate a night to marveling at the stars in Loreto at the world’s first “million-star resort.”

The sky above you is always filled with stars, and during the day the sun outshines them all. However, since we started lighting our world up with electricity, the ability to see the stars at night has decreased. This modern phenomenon is known as light pollution, and you’ll see it when you drive into any city. The sky above even smaller towns often has a yellow haze from the artificial light of billboards, buildings, and street lamps. With all this light pollution, seeing the stars is almost impossible until you go beyond the city limits.

In most American cities, you can no longer see the Milky Way at night, but you’ll see all sorts of stars in Loreto on vacation. That’s because the Baja Peninsula is one of the top 20 places in the world for stargazing, and this ranking comes from NASA, an organization known for its fascination with the universe. While bigger towns like Los Cabos have more light pollution, the quiet seclusion of Loreto makes it a place where you can look up at a brilliant display of stars, and it’s this tranquility that makes it such a beautiful destination.

Too much artificial light disrupts the body’s natural cycles, and scientists have found that it can decrease our body’s production of melatonin. To counteract this, it’s healthy to spend time in nature, aligning yourself with the natural rhythm of the sunrise and sunset. Stargazing in Loreto allows you to soak up the night air and slow down before going to bed. However, no matter where you are, by turning off your phone and television before bed, you’ll be reducing your exposure to artificial light at night, allowing you to fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer.

To see the beauty of the Loreto stars, you don’t need any fancy equipment or specialized knowledge. You simply need to walk beyond the lights of the resort to go stargazing in Loreto. To get the most out of the experience and teach your kids about the stars in Loreto, download a free app that uses your phone’s GPS to help you find constellations and planets in the night sky. SkyView, Stellarium, and Starlight are just a few of the free apps that help you pinpoint your place in the universe while you look up at the stars.

While stargazing in Loreto, travelers capture brilliant photos of the night sky, and these photos capture just a fraction of all the Loreto stars you’ll see. Let these images capture your imagination and inspire your next vacation.