Wish upon a star in Hanle, India's first dark-sky reserve

The remote venue is as much about the community on the ground as it is about attractions in the sky

Hanle became India's only dark-sky reserve last year. Photo: Dorje Angchuk

Getting to Hanle, a remote village in the Union Territory of Ladakh in north India, takes a bit of effort and a lot of determination. At 4,500 metres above sea level, the mountainous desert landscape is inhospitable but breathtakingly beautiful, and the nearest airport is at least seven hours away.

But a tiny fraction make the effort – for a very specific reason. To see the sky. As absurd as that sounds, Hanle has something that’s not anywhere else in India and in very few places in Asia – intense dark skies carpeted with stars. Which is why it became the country’s only dark-sky reserve in December.

Hanle sits in a valley carved by an eponymous river, surrounded by a stark and dramatic landscape – flat bare lands in shades of brown and occasional green grasslands are interrupted by ribbons of flowing electric blue water, flanked by blue-green hills and mountain ranges, some topped with snow. Nothing much grows here and the blue-green comes more from the play of light than any vegetation.

Hanle wasn’t known outside its immediate vicinity until about two decades ago. Visitors were few and far between, and generally headed to its 17th-century Buddhist monastery and the Changthang Wildlife Sanctuary, home to the rare kiang (Tibetan wild ass).

At the turn of the century, it became home to the Indian Astronomical Observatory, run by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, a high-altitude astronomy station with optical, infrared and gamma-ray telescopes. Even at that point, it was only researchers, scientists and hardcore astronomers who made the arduous journey. Of late, however, Hanle has evoked interest among a budding community of astronomy enthusiasts and sky gazers. It is expected to boost astro-tourism, but it remains firmly positioned within the local community.

“Hanle is very remote and there is no light or dust pollution. There is less moisture and it has a dry atmosphere, so it is ideal for observing the sky,” says Dorje Angchuk, the IAO’s engineer-in-charge. “It is also uniquely located in a rain-shadow region and does not get any monsoon rains.

“So it has more cloud-free nights than anywhere else in the country – 270 usable nights [where observation is possible for four hours or more], of which 170 are cloud-free. The darkness is very good, comparable to any other dark-sky location across the world,” he says, noting that moonless nights between March and November are particularly good for sky-gazing.

Just how dark and how visible is difficult to quantify, so Angchuk, offers this as comparison: “Wherever you are in the country, if you go to a relatively dark place and are able to recognise some constellations, you will have a tough time identifying them in Hanle.

“The sky is that dense with stars that it becomes difficult. The most spectacular sight is that of the Milky Way of course, but in winter, it is also possible to get a fuzzy view of the Andromeda Galaxy [2.5 million light years away].”

A few years ago, the IIA and the Ladakh administration began exploring ways to turn Hanle into an astro-tourism hotspot, and developed a framework to govern a dark-sky reserve. It led to a unique symbiosis between researchers, the local government and the community. “An area of about a 22km radius around the observatory has been declared as the Hanle Dark Sky Reserve,” says Niruj Mohan Ramanujam, head of the IIA’s science communication, public outreach and education section.

Broadly, the designation involves light management and development of astro-tourism. “It comes with certain conditions, like restrictions on the kinds of activities and the control of emitted light. But the burden of all this was on us – financing by the Union Territory and management by us. So warm bulbs have been installed, outside lights have lampshades and all houses are being given dark curtains,” he says.

At the heart of HDSR is the community, about 300 households spread over six villages, and the dark reserve is their domain. The village elders have signed the La Palma Declaration with Fundacion Starlight, which, among other things, asserts that “an unpolluted night sky” that allows for enjoyment is “an inalienable right” and calls for measures including education, intelligent use of artificial lighting and adoption of responsible tourism measures.

“It aligns with preserving the area and developing the community through sustainable measures and empowering locals through science-driven education,” says Ramanujam. The Ladakh government funded the training of 24 youngsters, 70 per cent of them female, and bought 18 telescopes. “We trained them in basic astronomy, identifying things in the night sky, and how to operate a telescope. These are our astro-tourism ambassadors,” he says.

This is expected to unleash economic development and open up self-employment avenues in the region. From only a handful of homestays a few years ago, there are more than a dozen now; from about 3,000 to 4,000 annual visitors before the pandemic, about 10,000 converged here last year. More facilities, including a visitor centre, activities and workshops for astronomy enthusiasts are likely to follow soon.

“This is a unique model that can be used in the rest of the country. Eventually, there will probably be several astro-tourism spots, in Ladakh, as well as in other parts of the country where there are dark skies,” explains Ramanujam.

For millennia, the night sky and its infinite stars have evoked wonder and curiosity, and have been eulogised and worshipped. Stars have guided ships to land and a falling one is believed to make wishes come true.

Angchuk says, in Hanle, it unleashes a spiritual side. “When they see the night sky, people tell me they have landed in heaven.”