Where does the path of totality cross Spain on 2 August 2027?
Last updated 2026-08-13
The umbra clips Spain's southern tip at the Strait of Gibraltar around 10:47 local time. Only 102 of the 7,528 municipalities in the IGN table are inside it, holding about 3.03 million people. Ceuta gets 4 minutes 49 seconds, Tarifa 4 minutes 38 seconds, Málaga 1 minute 49 seconds.
Spain is a sliver in 2027, not the main event. On 12 August 2026 the band crossed the whole country diagonally and 3,675 municipalities saw totality. A year later the shadow passes the Strait of Gibraltar and leaves almost immediately for Morocco, and the Spanish count falls to 102. If you are planning around 2027, the first question is not what time it starts but whether you are going to be far enough south.
Which provinces are inside the 2027 path?
Five provinces and both autonomous cities. Málaga contributes 54 municipalities, Cádiz 29, Granada 12 and Almería 5, with Ceuta and Melilla adding one each. That is 102 in total against 3,675 for the 2026 eclipse, a reduction of roughly 97 percent in the Spanish footprint.
The band runs west to east across the Strait, so the coastline decides everything. Coastal Cádiz sits deep inside it, the Málaga municipalities thin out as the northern limit rises, and Granada and Almería contribute only their southernmost strips. Inland Andalusia is outside. Sevilla reaches magnitude 0.98 and Granada city 0.99, close enough to feel unfair and far enough to see no corona.
Where does totality last longest in Spain?
Ceuta, at 4 minutes 49 seconds, followed by Tarifa at 4 minutes 38 seconds, Melilla at 4 minutes 34 seconds and Algeciras at 4 minutes 27 seconds. Every one of the longest Spanish durations sits in the Strait of Gibraltar corner, because that is where the centre line passes closest.
- Ceuta — 4 min 49 s
- Tarifa (Cádiz) — 4 min 38 s
- Melilla — 4 min 34 s
- Algeciras (Cádiz) — 4 min 27 s
- La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz) — 4 min 23 s
- Cádiz city — 2 min 55 s
- Málaga city — 1 min 49 s
The spread inside one province is the part worth internalising. Cádiz city and Tarifa are 90 minutes apart by road and differ by more than a minute and a half of totality. Málaga, the largest city inside the band, gets barely a third of what Tarifa gets. Where you stand decides how long the corona lasts, and the decision is worth making before the hotels fill.
Why does Almería miss at magnitude 1.00?
The IGN publishes magnitude to two decimal places, so a printed 1.00 can still be fractionally below one. Almería city sits just outside the northern limit and the IGN classifies it as partial. Roquetas de Mar, 16 kilometres down the same coast, records 1 minute 31 seconds of totality.
Almería is the 2027 equivalent of Madrid in 2026: a city of nearly 200,000 people that a textbook calculation can easily place on the wrong side of the line. The umbral limit runs between towns rather than around them, and a centroid on a map is not a verdict for the person standing 8 kilometres north of it. This is the case where a published government table earns its keep over a solve.
Where does the shadow go after Spain?
Straight into North Africa. The track crosses Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya before reaching Egypt, where the duration near Luxor exceeds six minutes, the longest totality over land for decades. It continues over Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Somalia before ending in the Indian Ocean.
That is why 2027 draws international eclipse chasers away from Spain. The Egyptian leg offers roughly a third more totality than Tarifa under some of the most dependable August skies anywhere on the track. Spain's advantage is different and not trivial: for anyone already in the country, the Strait is a drive rather than a visa, a flight and a desert.
Eclipse publishes the IGN's own verdict for every Spanish municipality for 2 August 2027, with contact times to the second and the direction to look. It works with no signal.
Key takeaways
- Only 102 of Spain's 7,528 municipalities see totality in 2027, against 3,675 in 2026.
- Ceuta leads at 4 min 49 s, then Tarifa at 4 min 38 s and Algeciras at 4 min 27 s.
- Málaga city, the largest inside the band, gets 1 min 49 s — about a third of Tarifa's.
- Madrid reaches magnitude 0.88 and Barcelona 0.84, so neither sees the corona at all.
- Almería reads magnitude 1.00 and is still outside; Roquetas de Mar, 16 km away, is inside.
- After Spain the track runs through Morocco to Egypt, where totality passes six minutes.
Frequently asked questions
How many Spanish municipalities see totality on 2 August 2027?
102, out of the 7,528 in the IGN table, holding about 3.03 million people. They fall in five provinces plus the two autonomous cities: Málaga with 54, Cádiz with 29, Granada with 12, Almería with 5, and Ceuta and Melilla with one each.
Where does totality last longest in Spain in 2027?
Ceuta, at 4 minutes 49 seconds. Tarifa follows with 4 minutes 38 seconds, then Melilla at 4 minutes 34 seconds and Algeciras at 4 minutes 27 seconds. The Strait of Gibraltar corner holds every one of the longest Spanish durations.
Does the 2027 eclipse reach Madrid or Barcelona?
No. Madrid reaches magnitude 0.88 and Barcelona 0.84, so both see a deep partial eclipse and nothing more. The umbra stays south of them by hundreds of kilometres. Neither city sees the corona, and filters stay on for the whole event.
Why does Almería miss totality at magnitude 1.00?
Magnitude is published to two decimals, so 1.00 can still be fractionally under one. Almería city sits just outside the northern limit and the IGN classifies it as partial. Roquetas de Mar, 16 km down the coast, gets 1 minute 31 seconds of totality.