Aperture Telescopes arranged a three day star gazing session at the location of Abbott Mount, Champawat District, Uttarakhand. This is an effort by the District Tourism Development Corporation of Champawat to promote the destination as an Astro Friendly one. The event was called ‘Astroweek Champawat’, 16th to 18th May 2023. The hub of the event was the Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam’s resort located at the top of Abbott Mount.
I must admit that I was a little afraid while setting up the camera for this image (above). This is an old British church in a dense forest close-by to the KMVN resort. Clearly I was the trespasser in the wild. I kept my phone light on and frequently looking out for two eyes staring at me from behind. It took about 15-20 minutes to set up my camera and then I left the camera clicking away till the morning. This star trail image is composed of 742 images clicked continuously.
Surprised to get a call from Swastikk Creations on behalf of District Tourism Development Corporation of Champawat to organise Star Gazing session in the ‘Astroweek Chmpawat’. Champawat is a district in eastern Uttarakhand bordering Nepal. The driving route to Champawat takes you to the India-Nepal border at Banbasa and then northwards into the Himalayan Foothills.
The image above is of River Sarda, also known as River Kali, albeit in Nepal. This forms the natural border between India and Nepal. This image was shot standing on the bank of River Sarda. The hill that is seen in the background is situated in Nepal.
Abbott Mount is a small hamlet near the town of Lohaghat in Champawat district. The height of the location is about 1650 feet above sea level and affords nice views of the snow-capped Himalayan Peaks. While there are many other destinations in Kumaon which are famous and frequented by tourists, Abbott Mount is not so famous but is equally good location for the Himalayan views as well as astronomy and astrophotography.
As a part of the event titled ‘Astroweek Champawat’, we arranged three large telescope to be installed on location. This effort of the District Tourism Department was largely to make the local youth aware of the uniqueness of the location, viz. good for astronomy activities, bird watching etc. The effort was quite a success.
Here is a start of a story. This young lad Kevin, living at Champawat, got so hooked up with the telescopes. In just a matter of couple of hours he got used to operating the telescope. He was locating deep sky objects using the large 16-inch manual telescope on his own. Is this a spark that is required for this young lad? We are sure that this spark will lead to some great achievements in Kevin’s life, living in Champawat.
Abbott Mount also has a large open field (cricket ground) near the KMVN resort to set up your astrophotography gear at night. The location is quite dark once the front gate lights of the KMVN resort are turned off. Amateur astronomers can consider visiting the place for observations as well as deep sky photography.
It was a wonderful experience to attend the ‘Astroweek Champawat’, and I hope that the event becomes an annual affair.
Ajay Talwar
Amazing, keep inspiring the generations!!
Just wonderful… Can’t help but admire your passionate zeal and WONDERLUST… I share it vicariously through your posts…
Just wonderful… Can’t help but admire your passionate zeal and WONDERLUST… I share it vicariously through your posts…