Annular Solar Eclipse 2020 from Mansarovar lake

Astrophile Travel brings to you all eclipse chasers an excellent opportunity to witness the Annular solar eclipse of 2020 from the mighty Mansarovar Lake in Tibet. Famous eclipse chaser Mr. Xavier Jubier will be our tour leader and Eclipse expert for the trip.

ITINERARY

9 Night 10 Day Lhasa – Mansarovar – Lhasa ASE 2020

Day No.	Date	Day	Attraction & Activity
Day 1	June 15	Monday	Arrival in Lhasa, pick up and transfer to the hotel. At leisure to acclimatise with the high altitude.
Day 2	June 16	Tuesday	visit to Drepung Monastery, Sera Monastery Lhasa
Day 3	June 17	Wednesday	Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, Barkhor Street
Day 4	June 18	Thursday	The Drive from Lhasa to Yamdrok Lake / Gyantse / Shigatse (Xigaze – 3,800m). Overnight in Shigatse.
Day 5	June 19	Friday	Drive from Shigatse to Xian de Saga (4,500m). On a beautiful day making the detour to go to the Pang La pass would be worth it (5,200m and magnificent view over five 8,000-meter summits, Overnight in Xian de Saga.
Day 6	June 20	Saturday	Drive from Xian de Saga to Mansarovar Lake (4,600m). Overnight by the lake
Day 7	June 21	Sunday	Sunrise of Mansarovar Lake, Eclipse watch
Day 8	June 22	Monday	Hike to Selung Monastery with views over Mt.Kailash. Late afternoon drive to Ngari. Overnight in Ngari.
Day 9	June 23	Tuesday	Morning flight to Lhasa. Visit Norbulingka Palace. Overnight in Lhasa.
Day 10	June 24	Wednesday	Local market visit, gift/souvenir purchase, Flight to home/next destination.

The month of June is optimum for the sky conditions. Given the sky conditions, we can aim for stargazing near Mansarovar lake. The location and views for the eclipse can be chosen as we arrive on the lake a day before the eclipse. On the day of eclipse, the timeline are as follows:

Lat.: 30.7741° N/ 30°46’26.75″ Long.: 81.5258° E/81°31’32.88″		Annular Solar Eclipse Duration of Annularity: 0m38.1s Magnitude: 0.997 Obscuration: 98.81%
Event	Time (UT)	Alt	Azi
Start of partial eclipse (C1)	05:02:24.2	68.0°	103.8°
Start of annular eclipse (C2)	06:45:15.7	82.4°	196.6°
Maximum eclipse	06:45:34.7	82.3°	197.2°
End of annular eclipse (C3)	06:45:53.8	82.3°	197.7°
End of partial eclipse (C4)	08:29:14.3	63.8°	260.7°

The main attraction of the tour after the celestial alignment is Mansarovar lake which is also known as “Mapam Yumco” in the local language. The lake is located at 4,590m or 15,060 ft above msl and is considered a very Divine lake in many religions. Our observation site will be on the shore of this lake. This will create exciting opportunities of shooting great landscape with eclipse in progress.

Here is the day-by-day detailed itinerary for better understanding of the trip.

• Day 1: After a long flight, arrive in Lhasa, meet and greet at the airport where you will be picked up and transferred to the hotel.
• Day 2: Light day to acclimatise with the higher altitude, visit Drepung Monastery and Sera Monastery. 
• Day 3: The day includes visit to Potala palace, Jokhang Temple and Barkhor street.
• Day 4: The Drive from Lhasa to Yamdrok Lake / Gyantse / Shigatse (Xigaze – 3,800m). Overnight in Shigatse.
• Day 5: Drive from Shigatse to Xian de Saga (4,500m). On a beautiful day making the detour to go to the Pang La pass would be worth it (5,200m and magnificent view over five 8,000-meter summits, see http://xjubier.free.fr/en/site_pages/china/Tibet_Everest_pg01.html). Overnight in Xian de Saga.
• Day 6: Drive from Xian de Saga to Mansarovar Lake (4,600m). Overnight by the lake?
• Day 7: The day of eclipse, engage in early morning arrangement and alignment of equipment and get prepared with the sequence of shooting. Get ready for eclipse watch using eclipse shades and photography gear. Have early lunch and be prepared to get amazed for the eclipse with 38 sec of annularity. Get ready for celebration after the successful eclipse watch.
• Day 8: Hike to Selung Monastery with views over Mt.Kailash. Late afternoon drive to Ngari. Overnight in Ngari.
• Day 9: Take an early morning flight and arrive in Lhasa. Visit Norbulingka Palace.
• Day 10: In the morning, check out from the hotel and leave the bags behind. Explore the local market, any last minute shopping for family and friends, or souvenir for self can be arranged at this time. Depart as per the flight from Lhasa to your next destination.

List of inclusions: The following things will be arranged for the interested and participating visitors.

• Comfortable Hotel Accommodations as listed in itinerary;
• Meals as listed in the itinerary;
• 17-seat Travel-licensed vehicle according to group size needed including gas and parking fee;
• Free Lhasa Railway Station transfer at all time on the first & last day;
• Free pick-up from airport to hotel on the first day; Free drop-off from hotel to airport on the last day;
• Drive from  Lhasa to Ngari and Domestic Flight from Ngari to Lhasa on economy class.
•  Experienced local English-speaking tour guide;
•  All entrance fee mentioned in itinerary;
• All necessary permits to Tibet;
• Travel insurance; during your stay in Tibet.
• Government Tax;
• Express delivery fee of Permit (eg. SF. Express)
• Food & lodgings for guide & driver;
• Oxygen tank for emergency use;
• Two bottles of mineral water per person per day;

Your accommodation in 3/4 star hotel in city and premium guest houses will be arranged. Your flight from Lhasa to Ngari and back will all be arranged. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will also be arranged.

List of hotels on this trip:

Location	3-star hotel	4-star hotel	5-star hotel
Lhasa	Gang-Gyan Hotel	Shangbala Hotel	Shangri-la Hotel/ ST. Regis Lhasa Resort
Shigatse	Hotel Mansarovar Shigatse	Shigatse Gesar Hotel	Qomo Langzong Hotel
Saga	Saga Hotel
Nagri	Chuanbei Hotel	Himalaya Kailash Hotel
Mansarovar	Mansarovar Guest House

5-star hotel (wherever available): Shangri-La or similar.

For price and other details, please read below:

• The price for the trip is US$ 4200 per person for 3/4* hotel on twin sharing per person.
• The price for the trip is US$ 4650 per person for 3/4* hotel on Single sharing room.
• The price for the trip is US$ 4850 per person for 5* hotel on twin sharing room
• The price for the trip is US$ 5120 per person for 5* Single Sharing room.

PS: The stay at Mansarovar Lake will be either at the Guest Houses or Tents. We can arrange Single sharing room as per the requirements. Kindly email us after registering the forms.

The payment mode and terms are as follows:

• First Instalment: USD 1/3rd of the price on or before June 20th, 2019
• Second Instalment: USD 1/3rd of the price on or before December 20th, 2019
• Third Instalment: USD 1/3rd on or before March 20th 2020.

The registration forms (google form) can be accessed here.

You can pay us here using PayPal: paypal.me/AstrophileIndia. (Please note: PayPal accepts all major credit/debit cards, net banking).

For Google Pay option: Scan the QR code

Last date for registration is January 31st, 2020.

If you have questions about the trip or any more details you seek, please write to us at astrophiletravels@gmail.com