July 22, 2009 Eclipse

Partial eclipses of the sun pale in comparison to the overwhelming spectacle of a total solar eclipse. On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, a total eclipse of the sun will be visible from within a narrow corridor, which traverses a third of the Earth.

The eclipse will start on the west coast of India and travel north-east across the sub-continent passing over Varanasi and Darjeeling lasting for 4 minutes, then onward through Bhutan and Bangladesh till it reaches China. We offer the opportunity to witness the celestial display in holy Varanasi and the tea-tree terraced Darjeeling. The Varanasi Eclipse viewing may well be better than Darjeeling. The bonus experience is that you get to savour India in miniature while being part of a rare astronomical moment.

The cities of Bhavnagar, Surat, Indore, Murwara, Varanasi, Aurangabad and Patna all lie in the path of totality. Of these, Surat, the second largest city in Gujarat, is right on the centre line.

There are numerous possibilities for building a trip in India which incorporate the 2009 Eclipse. Of the cities mentioned previously, Patna should give the longest period of totality, although Sasaram is about half-way to Varanasi (which will also experience totality) and is slap bang on the centre line.

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