There is a spectacular solar eclipse coming to the world in the summer of 2027 – Monday August 2nd 2027, to be precise. The news of this natural phenomenon is causing quite a stir at Egypt Escapes as Egypt is going to be at the epicentre of it!
Mark the date in your calendar… Egypt is going to be the best place to witness one of the longest total solar eclipses in history! At Egypt Escapes, we will be putting on special holidays and tours for eclipse hunters to enjoy this amazing natural phenomenon.
Luxor, Hurghada and Marsa Alam will be among the best places in the world to appreciate this extremely rare event. This is where the ‘greatest eclipse’ will be occurring. Sharm, Cairo and other places in Egypt will be excellent vantage points too.
The path of totality crosses the Nile Valley, offering clear skies, with partial phases beginning around 1139am local time in Egypt and totality hitting in the early afternoon.
Stages of the Solar Eclipse in Egypt – Monday August 2nd 2027
First Contact: The moon starts to move in front of the sun, creating a crescent shape (partial eclipse begins). This first phase will start over the Atlantic Ocean and moves across the map.
Second Contact: The moon completely covers the sun (full eclipse), marking the beginning of the “total” phase.
Maximum Eclipse: The point of greatest duration, lasting up to 6 minutes and 23 seconds near Luxor, Egypt, where the NSO – National Solar Observatory states the sun is completely blocked. This is the deepest point, where the sun’s corona is visible.
Third Contact: The moon begins to move away (totality ends) and the first ray of direct sunlight reappears, known as the diamond ring effect.
Fourth Contact: The moon completely moves off the sun’s disk, ending the eclipse.
Doing a Nile cruise at this time would be a perfect way to view the solar eclipse. Although a hotel stay in Luxor would be just as suitable, as peak totality of the solar eclipse will be present just south of the city. To experience a slightly shorter duration of the solar eclipse but still just as amazing, then maybe relaxing on a beach on the Red Sea Riviera would suit a better holiday for some.
The chances of a clear sky in Egypt in August are also very high, so no one should be disappointed with visibility. Just ask those that crammed in to Cornwall in 1999 when we had a solar eclipse in the UK, only for it to be mainly cloudy!
The maximum duration of totality will be observed in Egypt, approximately 37 miles (60 km) southeast of Luxor and will last 6 minutes and 22 seconds!
Totality will commence over the eastern Atlantic Ocean and travel across the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco, and continue across parts of North Africa and the Middle East. Also, It will be visible in Central Asia, Indian Ocean Islands.
Major cities and locations under the path of totality will include:
Cadiz and Málaga, in southern Spain
Gibraltar
Tangier, Morocco
Oran, Algeria
Sfax, Tunisia
Benghazi, Libya
Luxor in central Egypt
Jeddah and Mecca in southwest Saudi Arabia
Sana’a in western Yemen
The tip of the Horn of Africa in extreme northeast Somalia
Islands in the British Indian Ocean Territory
A partial solar eclipse will be visible from the extreme east tip of Maine, United States, far eastern Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces in Canada, southern Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Great Britain, nearly the entirety of the European continent, all but the southern quarter of Africa, the Middle East and from South and Southeast Asia.
It will be the first of three total solar eclipses that are observable in Tunisia in the 21st century, passing over the central part of the country.
It will be the second total eclipse in Spain within a year, after August 2026. An annular eclipse will appear in Spain in January 2028. A national eclipse committee has even been established to coordinate eclipse-related activities!
So, mark the date, stay tuned and sign up for special offers relating to this and more from Egypt Escapes.
