Indira Gandhi Planetarium
Lucknow’s taramandal is the Saturn-shaped building at Surajkund Park, on Nabiullah Road, by the Gomti. The official name is Indira Gandhi Planetarium. The address the planetarium itself publishes is 9, Nabiullah Road, Surajkund Park, Lucknow 226018. That is the old-city river side, near Qaiserbagh / Daliganj, not Hazratganj’s Gautam Buddha Marg, and not Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Vibhuti Khand. If a cab driver hears “Indira Gandhi” and starts toward Lohia Park, stop him. Pratishthan is a convention complex. This is the dome.
School children come for the show. Families come on Saturday. People who grew up here still say taramandal more often than planetarium. You sit under a dome, the lights go down, and for half an hour or so the sky is explained in Hindi, or in English on some weekend first shows. That is the visit. There is no lawn circuit and no picnic culture around the rings of the building, though the water pool at the base makes a good photograph before you go in.
A Saturn on the Gomti
The Council of Science and Technology, Uttar Pradesh, built the planetarium for ordinary visitors and school groups. The foundation stone of the Saturn-shaped building was laid on 28 February 1988 by then Chief Minister Veer Bahadur Singh. Then Chief Minister Mayawati inaugurated it on 8 May 2003. Public shows began the next day. The sphere, about 21 metres across, sits on a cratered-looking platform with a water pool and fountains. Five rings give the silhouette everyone knows from the flyover.
Do not call it one of five planetariums in India. The country has many, in several states, and Lucknow’s own official pages have never needed that boast. What is true is simpler: this is Uttar Pradesh’s well-known public planetarium in the capital, run for shows, school groups and amateur astronomy.
Around 2023 the dome closed for a large upgrade. In August 2025 it reopened after a modernisation newspapers put at about Rs 41 crore. Science and Technology Minister Anil Kumar inaugurated the new system on 19 August 2025. Amar Ujala described an 8K digital 2D/3D full-dome setup and a new seamless dome. The visitor fact that matters: the taramandal is open again, with 2D and 3D shows, and the old Rs 25 board is no longer the rate to assume.
Shows, language, what you sit through
A show lasts roughly 35 to 45 minutes. You are in a darkened dome. Small children who cannot sit still will struggle; the old rule of no separate seat for very young children still appears in rate tables. The official CSTUP planetarium site has long listed daily public shows at 1:00 pm, 2:30 pm, 4:00 pm and 5:00 pm, with an extra 6:00 pm show in summer vacations, booking from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm, and group shows at 11:00 am and 12:00 noon for parties of 100 or more. It also said the first show on Saturday and Sunday is in English, and the rest are in Hindi. After the 2025 reopening, at least one local listing mentioned five slots (12:00, 1:00, 2:30, 3:30, 4:30). Schedules move. The list on the door, or on cstupplanetarium.in, is the one to use.
Titles change. Do not plan around a film name from an old blog. Ask which show is 2D or 3D, and whether the next slot is Hindi or English, before you pay.
Tickets, closed day, how to reach
The planetarium is closed to the public on Monday. That closed day has been consistent on the official site through the old and new phases. For tickets, the picture split in 2025. The CSTUP site still displayed the older tariff in places: Rs 25 per person above three years, Rs 10 for groups of 30 or more, free for visitors with disabilities. On the eve of the August 2025 reopening, Amar Ujala printed a new table: children up to five free; general visitors Rs 100 for 2D and Rs 200 for 3D; students up to 18 and visitors with disabilities Rs 50 / Rs 100; larger group concessions below that. Those newspaper figures are the ones to take seriously after the upgrade, but they should still be confirmed at the booking counter or the official site on the day you go. Do not arrive with only the old Rs 25 in your head.
Phone numbers printed on official pages have included 0522-2982071. Booking has been both at the venue and online; use the Council’s planetarium site, not a random reseller. Reach Surajkund Park / Nabiullah Road. The planetarium’s own note places Bara Imambara, Rumi Darwaza, the Residency and Shaheed Smarak within about a kilometre. That is the right neighbourhood. Vibhuti Khand is not.
A river-side half day
Because the dome sits so close to the old city, the natural loop is monuments plus one show. Do Chota Imambara and the Hussainabad Clock Tower in daylight, then take the afternoon slot under the dome. Chattar Manzil is on the same river band. Lucknow Zoo and the museum are a separate Banarasi Bagh stop, not a walk from Surajkund. For other city places, use the places listing.
Come midweek for a quieter house, or Saturday if you want the English first show, and still check that it has not been moved. Sit through the whole reel.
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FAQs
What is Indira Gandhi Planetarium and why visit?
Lucknow’s taramandal is the Saturn-shaped building at Surajkund Park, on Nabiullah Road, by the Gomti.
What can visitors do there?
The Council of Science and Technology, Uttar Pradesh, built the planetarium for ordinary visitors and school groups.
What are the timings or entry arrangements?
The planetarium is closed to the public on Monday.
How do I reach it and what should I know before going?
Phone numbers printed on official pages have included 0522-2982071.
How long should I spend and what can I pair nearby?
Allow time for the main features described in the article and check local notices before pairing this visit with another place.