COSMOS CIRCUIT

Stargazing

- SRUSHTI KULKARNI

Astro-tourism facilities are on the rise as India taps into its dark skies for sustainable night-time travel and star experiences.

The Himachal Pradesh government has launched a stargazing facility in Kaza, a remote town in Spiti Valley. This new wave of tourism is slowly transforming India's most remote landscapes – not through wellness retreats or heritage stays, but by turning travellers' gaze upwards – at the sky, at the stars and the cosmos beyond. Backed by the Department of Environment, Science and Technology, the new facility in Kaza is equipped with high-powered Sky-Watcher GoTo telescopes and will be operated by trained local youth, many from Spiti's tribal communities. The initiative is as much about generating livelihood as it is about skywatching. With no light pollution, high elevation and over 250 clear nights a year, Spiti offers some of the most ideal conditions for stargazing in India. With the introduction of formal infrastructure in place, it is being repositioned as a destination where silence and science meet under some of the darkest skies in the country.