Twelve provinces in Indonesia will experience darkness tomorrow morning due to a total solar eclipse, a phenomenon which occurs when the moon is in line between the earth and sun.

Thousands of local and foreign tourists are making a beeline to the areas that will experience the full eclipse, which falls on the day of the Nyepi Festival, a public holiday.

Local media reported that local governments in the 12 provinces were organising various facilities for travellers to view the rare phenomenon.

Bengkulu Province will be the first region to be to experience the solar eclipse and the local government has prepared Fort Marlborough as the place to view the phenomenon from by providing a wide range of binoculars.

According to a spokesperson for the provincial authorities, people in Bengkulu will witness the darkest shadow of the eclipse, when it crosses the province.

The solar eclipse is expected pass the district of Muko Muko at 7.19am and it is called the peak of the eclipse when the moon covers the sun completely.

The eclipse will begin at Bengkulu province at 6.19am and last until 8.27am West Indonesia time and the peak of the eclipse will occur for a minute at 7.19am.

At Marlborough Fort, events will begin with a congregational prayers for the solar eclipse which will be participated by the Governor of Bengkulu, Ridwan Mukti.

Chairperson of the National Institute of Aeronautics and Space (Lapan), Thomas Djamaluddin, was quoted as saying that the total solar eclipse had occurred in Indonesia in 1983, 1988 and 1995, and the phenomenon is expected to occur again in 2023.

Other areas that will experience the eclipse are West Sumatra, South Sumatra, Jambi, Bangka Belitung, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan, East Kalimantan, West Sulawesi, Central Sulawesi and North Maluku.

Hotels in these regions are fully booked and local authorities have also allowed traders to open temporary booths to sell food, drinks and souvenirs to visitors.

In other provinces, including Jakarta, the public are likely to witness only a partial solar eclipse.

- Bernama