Pica: The global astrotourism destination seeks to renew its certification as a Starlight Town

In 2022, the locality of the Tarapacá Region was recognized as the first Starlight village in Latin America. The certification highlights its dark skies protected from light pollution, ideal for practicing activities related to astronomy and astrotourism.

Pica, a small village in the Pampa del Tamarugal that is over thirteen hundred meters high, has positioned itself internationally for the quality of its skies. This is certified by its seal as Starlight Village, which has served the community and the tourism industry as a guarantee to attract visitors from all over the world interested in appreciating the stars. Currently, the locality seeks to renew this certification and its commitment to the conservation of dark skies.

Pablo Suazo, an academic from the University of Tarapacá and part of the certification process as a Starlight Village, is currently the director of the Astro-heritage FIC project and is collaborating in the renewal of this seal. Pablo points out that the benefits that the Starlight seal has brought to Pica have been in two areas: “as a promotion of a locality with certified skies for astronomical observation and to diversify the tourist offer of the locality.”

These days, along with a team from the area, they are working on the necessary reports to apply for the renewal. For this, they must make a new measurement of the quality of the skies, in addition to preparing a report on the work that the commune has done, both in the development of astrotourism and in the mitigation of light pollution.

In this regard, Cristian Céspedes, head of the Communal Tourism Office of the I. Municipality of Pica, anticipates that during this year they will replace two hundred streetlights distributed throughout the commune, which have been installed for more than two decades and are currently a source of light pollution as their light points directly upwards. “A mitigation measure that we are considering is to put a type of screen over the streetlights so that the light does not go towards the sky,” explained Cristian.

Additionally, the municipality is working on promoting the Starlight certification through activities organized by the tourism office, which include themes related to astrotourism. However, he clarifies that there is still work to be done in the commune.

Starlight Seal: a contribution to sustainable development

The granting of the Starlight Village certification is also aimed at allowing small rural localities like Pica to have the opportunity to diversify their economy through the development of astrotourism, from a sustainable perspective. For Pablo Suazo, the certification offers them a platform at a global level.

“It is super important to reveal and take advantage of the opportunity that the development of astrotourism is giving us and the seal is a driver, which could not only help us establish an astrotourism offer but also diversify it,” he highlighted.

He also mentions that the accreditation allows for the continued development of the identity of an astronomical territory in Pica and that the community becomes aware of the importance of mitigating light pollution.

Cristian agrees that they must continue working to raise awareness among the inhabitants of Pica about the value of the commune’s skies. “The skies we have are wonderful, we have the sky almost clear all year round, we can see the stars very well and the light pollution is not so strong. If you just move a kilometer or five hundred meters away from the center of Pica, you can already appreciate the sky well,” he mentioned.