By Neha Kirpal
Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board in association with Starscapes, India’s leading astro tourism company, recently launched ‘Nakshatra Sabha’, India’s first-ever annual campaign dedicated exclusively to promoting astro tourism.
The inaugural event at George Everest, Mussoorie,offered a holistic astro tourism experience with activities such as stargazing, 3D shows, special solar observations, astrophotography contests, camping under the stars and more.
“The campaign has been conceptualised with a twofold goal in mind, one to position Uttarakhand as the ideal astro tourism destination and secondly to institutionalise the same through building of grass roots competencies and communities who have a stake in the same,” said Ramashish Ray, Founder, Starscapes.
Nakshatra Sabha will span until mid of 2025, offering a series of immersive events at various locations throughout Uttarakhand. This will cover dark sky potential sites in districts of Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Nainital and Chamoli besides seminars and webinars with experts.
This initiative aims to bring together astronomy enthusiasts, adventurers, and travellers from across the globe to witness the beauty of the cosmos.
“Civilisations have always had a connection with the cosmos. In the recent past, most of us who live in cities don’t have a clear night sky. Further, our lifestyle does not make that connection. Such opportunities can help bring back that connection,” explained Dr TV Venkateswaran, Professor, IISER Mohali.
The campaign also offers professional training and skill development opportunities to local residents, with an aim to enhance local economies. Furthermore, it will advocate for the preservation of dark skies, fostering a community of ambassadors dedicated to promoting dark sky conservation efforts throughout Uttarakhand.
This includes the formulation of a dark sky preservation policy and its implementation throughout the region over the course of the year. The team at Starscapes will actively collaborate with local communities, travel and tourism partners, as well as homestay communities, providing training and ongoing support to ensure successful implementation of these initiatives.
“Uttarakhand has tremendous potential to become the go to destination for all things related to astronomy-focused travel. Uttarakhand is uniquely positioned to be the choice for the astro tourist with its large forest cover, nature-based tourism, easy access to all major cities and a well-developed hospitality sector including homestays. This upcoming campaign is yet another step in that direction,” said Sachin Kurve, Secretary, Tourism & CEO, Uttarakhand Tourism Board.
Later this year, there will be fivemore such events at five different locations in the state, including Jadung, Jageshwar and Benital.“Activities like astrotourism are important for Uttarakhand, as we want to take tourists to the remote corners of the state rather than legacy destinations such as Mussoorie, Nainital and Almora. We want to give people more choice in terms of destinations as well as activities. The idea is to combine architecture with spirituality,” added Sumit Pant, Director, Marketing & Publicity, Uttarakhand Tourism.
