Astro tourism has evolved from being a hobby for astronomy fans to a fantastic idea to market travel destinations and enjoy eclipses, meteor showers, and other celestial events. In more basic terms, it is to travel with the main purpose of stargazing. Astro villages are villages from where you can easily stargaze as they also have observatories dedicated to the same. Uttarakhand in India is home to such beautiful astro villages which you surely should visit.
1. Benital
Benital astro village in Uttarakhand is beautifully situated at about 2,600 meters above the sea level. There are many mountain ranges in the state of Uttarakhand. The state offers panoramic vistas of mountain ranges in addition to fishing holes, fruit orchards, and spiritual lakes. Benital provides tourists with the opportunity to view planets, stars, constellations, and astronomical occurrences once in a lifetime. The village has astronomical domes and large telescopes to serve the purpose.
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2. Kausani
Kausani is a quaint little hill station in Uttarakhand and offers a beautiful panoramic view of the Himlayan peaks. The village also offers the most amazing view of the night sky, making it one of the astro villages in Uttarakhand. The village also has a dedicated observatory well equipped with large telescopes for all the astro enthusiasts to stargaze easily. The observatory in Kausani was the very first one to be opened in Uttarakhand in the year 2015.
3. Bhimtal
Amidst the beautiful mountains of Bhimtal, Uttarakhand, take in a surreal experience of stargazing. For those astronomy aficionados who can find tranquility in the wide sky and all the wonder it holds, the recently opened Stargate Observatory Bhimtal is the ideal location. From day to night, the observatory hosts astronomy presentations and educational programmes that allow visitors to see the sky’s shifting hues. Workshops on astrophotography, celestial shows, and many other activities are also available to visitors.
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