New Delhi: Skyscanner has released its ‘Travel Trends 2025 Report’, revealing the trends for the upcoming year. The highlight is that Indian travelers are looking for collective travel experiences, one that they can share in the communities that they are active in. Astro-tourism was a big trend this year, which is expected to continue into the next year as well, with travelers travelling to catch celestial events such as solar eclipses, meteor showers and polar lights. For 2025, there will be a total lunar eclipse on 13 March, a partial solar eclipse on 29 March, another total lunar eclipse on 7 September and a partial solar eclipse on 21 September. The event to really plan for is the 2028 Total Solar Eclipse in Australia.
Northern Lights are particularly popular among astro adventurers. (Image Credit: Lightscape/Unsplash).
Astro-adventurers are looking for Dark Sky reserves, at great distances from urban centres with little light pollution. India’s first dark sky reserve has been established at Hanle in Ladakh, with the second one coming up at the Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Some other popular locations for stargazing include Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh, the pristine landscape of the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, and Mount Abu in Rajasthan with its famously clear skies. Indian travelers are looking to photograph the night sky, sleeping under the stars and catching the northern lights.
How to prep for an Astro Adventure
NASA Astronaut Kellie Gerardie advices, “astro adventures are more popular than ever. My best advice is to plan early with flexibility. It is necessary to find out the dates of celestial events or understand solar activity to get the best out of your astro adventure. It also makes sense to recce the location in the daytime to identify rocks, boulders and other obstacles that might not be visible at night. Higher altitudes and wide, open landscapes are more suitable for astro adventures. Travelers also have to keep an eye out on the weather conditions, especially if they are planning to sleep in the open. It makes sense to carry a dSLR and a tripod to capture the best memories of an astro adventure.
