Partial eclipses of the sun pale in comparison to the overwhelming spectacle of a total solar eclipse! On Wednesday, 22 July 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 off on the west coast of India and travel north east across the sub-continent passing over Varanasi and Darjeeling lasting for a duration of 4 minutes, then onward through Bhutan and Bangladesh till it reaches China. China will experience the longest visual of approx 5 minutes, seen best at Chongqing, along the River Yangtze and along the Shanghai coastline. Add the great 2009 total solar eclipse to your next season’s holiday abroad. on the go offer the opportunity to witness the display in holy Varanasi, tea tree terraced Darjeeling, Bhutan, aboard a Yangtze River cruiser crossing the Three Gorges and from the coast of the East China Sea, just south of Shanghai.

You should only partake in our India Solar Eclipse tours if the Eclipse is simply a bonus to already planned travels to India as the season dictates there will be a high chance of cloud cover and the sun being low on the horizon when the eclipse occurs.

The Philippines will witness a partial solar eclipse on July 22, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Thursday. The state weather bureau said the path of the moon’s umbral shadow will begin in India and is expected to cross Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Central China, the Pacific Ocean, Ryukyu Island, Marshal Island and Kiribati. It said a partial eclipse will be witnessed in several parts of the Philippines including Metro Manila, Calayan Island, Laoag City, Tuguegarao City, Baguio City, Angeles City in Pampanga, Puerto Princesa in Palawan, Lucena City, Naga City, Iloilo, Cebu, Zamboanga, Sulu, Davao and General Santos City. PAGASA said the eclipse will start in Metro Manila at exactly 8:33:01 a.m. The eclipse’s full visibility will be seen at 9:43 a.m. and will end at 11:01:51 a.m. Other areas in the globe that will witness partial solar eclipse are those in eastern Asia and the Pacific Ocean. The weather bureau, meanwhile, cautioned spectators to avoid directly looking at the eclipse without safety eye devices. It said people can cover their eyes with X-ray films, sun glasses, smoked glass and photographic films and negatives. It said the safest method to view the eclipse is by indirect viewing “like projecting the image with a pinhole camera.”