.www.independent.co.uk Libya is in prime position for the solar eclipse that will take place on March 28 in 2006.

"It is a very, very beautiful event and I defy anybody not to be moved by it," says Brian McGee, of the holiday company Explorers which is running tours that will take in the astronomical curiosity. In the two weeks since the company launched its tour, 90 per cent of the places have been sold, he said.

Roughly once a year, a stripe of the Earth's surface is cast into darkness as the Moon blots out the Sun in a total solar eclipse. The event of 29 March 2006 could be the most impressive of the decade. It begins at sunrise in Brazil, sweeps across the South Atlantic and makes landfall in Ghana - briefly blotting out the sun in the capital, Accra.

The path of totality curves over Nigeria and Niger and reaches its maximum duration of four minutes, seven seconds over the Libyan Sahara. The Moon's shadow then clips north-west Egypt, crosses the eastern Mediterranean, Turkey, the Black Sea and the south of the former Soviet Union before disappearing at sunset in western Mongolia.

Interest in astronomical tourism was spurred by the 1999 total eclipse which passed over Cornwall, but many of the million or so spectators who gathered to observe the event were disappointed because of cloud cover.

Serious eclipse-hunters study weather records to determine the location with the highest probability of clear skies. In late March, much of the track is at risk of overcast conditions, which jeopardises the success of the Mediterranean cruises that are being arranged for the event. But over the Libyan Sahara blue skies are the norm. Accordingly, Explorers has chosen a viewing site south of the Jalu Oasis.

Mr McGee began planning his programme in 2003 and has chartered a cruise ship that will sail from Greece and moor at Benghazi.

On the day of the eclipse, passengers will make a 4am start by bus to the viewing site deep in the Sahara; after the event, they will be taken back to the ship and set sail.

The programme went on sale two weeks ago, with prices ranging from أ‚آ£1,000 to أ‚آ£2,000. All the cheaper cabins sold out quickly. At close of business on Saturday, only 10 per cent of the original 600-plus places remained. Mr McGee, who has been organising eclipse expeditions since the Kazakhstan event in 1981, said: "I've never known an eclipse exhibition to sell so fast".

Libya has some superb beaches, dramatic desert scenery and a wealth of classical remains: Leptis Magna, the greatest Roman site in the Mediterranean, was rediscovered last century beneath the dunes west of Tripoli. "If you're interested in architecture you'll love it," said one of the few British specialists offering holidays to Libya.

Mr McGee expects his tour to sell out completely in the next few days and is now searching for a second vessel. One possible solution is that Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the easyJet founder, could make his ship, easyCruise One, available for what Mr McGee called "a spectacular piece of natural theatre".