These tourists like to gaze at the sky 

Western Ghats in Karnataka and the Himalayan range are the favourite spots of stargazers 

The days after the pandemic have seen tourists prefer lesser known, less crowded destinations. There is also a lot of demand for having new experiences. The latest among such trends in Karnataka has been astro (astronomy) tourism.

Though stargazing only used to be a hobby before, now separate, pollution-free, destinations are being set up for sky enthusiasts to visit and observe. While most astro enthusiasts usually make their trips to Hanle village near Ladakh or Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh, two similar properties set up in Kodagu recently by a private player have attracted over 2,000 tourists so far.

Starscapes, a startup, has been offering astronomy experiences throughout the country with their observatories, to cater to the growing interest. They provide state-of-the-art equipment for observations, astrophotography and research projects. In Karnataka, they launched their first property, a mobile observatory, in Madikeri and the second in Virajpet (both in Kodagu) in December 2021 and April 2022, respectively. Out of more than 2,000 guests here, 20 to 25% were from Bengaluru, the company says. 

“During the off-season (June to September and February to March), Starscapes has more tourists from Karnataka as compared to other States,” the company said. After noticing the good response, they received in Madikeri, they opened a new observatory in Ooty to attract more tourists from Bengaluru and Chennai.

However, the local tour operators say that the demand for such destinations is yet to pick up as most travellers who visit, still prefer the famed Raja Seat, Mandalapatti, Kushalnagar and the like. “We book around 25-30 tours in a day. Only recently, just one or two tourists enquired about this astro tourism spot. It is yet to gain popularity. Not even many locals are aware of it, let alone tourists,” said an employee at Skanda Coorg Travels in Madikeri.

An employee at Coorg Home Stays Association said there had been enquiries about the observatories, but the numbers were very few.

Within the State, deep inside the Western Ghats, is where stargazers go for astro tours. “It is impossible to see clear skies in places close to Bengaluru. Many go to Kemmannugundi, Kuduremukha, and Bhadra forest beyond Chikkamagaluru for skygazing. There are some pockets available in Karnataka, but the season is only from November to March,” said Ravindra Aradhya, president, Association of Bangalore Amateur Astronomers.