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.
