Floating
in splendid isolation, cast of the Indian mainland is the archipelago of 572
emerald islands, islets and rocks known as Andaman & Nicobar Islands. This Union
Territory is stretched over an area of more than 700 Km. from north to south
with 36 inhabited islands. Once a hill range extending from Burma (Myanmar) to
Indonesia, these undulating islands are covered with dense forests and endless
variety of exotic flowers and birds. The topography of the islands is hilly and
abounds in evergreen forests. The sandy beaches on the edge of meandering
coastline are fringed with coconut-palms that sway to the rhythm of the sea. The
sea around the islands offer excellent scope for water sports. The rare flora
and fauna, underwater marine life and corals, with crystal clear water and
mangrove-lined creeks, offer a dream-view of the rare gifts of nature. The clean
and wide roads, free of filth as well as unpolluted fresh air attract any
nature-lover, who seek absolute peace and tranquility in the lap of mother
nature. Adventure tourism like trekking, island camping, snorkeling, scuba
diving etc., are the real attractions. A visit to these islands is a memorable
lifetime experience.
Mythologicaly, the name Andaman was presumed to be
derived from Hanuman, who was known to the Malays as Handuman. Since Prehistoric
times, these islands were the home of aboriginal tribes. The tribes of, the
Andaman group of islands are the Great Andamanese, Onges, Jarawas, and
Sentinatese, all of Negrito origin, while the tribes of Nicobars are the
Nicobarese and Shompens, both of Mongoloid stock. The first settlement by the
British took place in 1789, which was later abandoned in 1796. The second
settlement was basically a penal settlement, taken up in 1858, after the First
War of Independence, followed by the settlement of convicts, Moplas, some
criminal tribes from Central and United Provinces, refugees from erstwhile East
Pakistan, Burma and Sri Lanka as well as ex-servicemen.
In these islands people of all faiths - Hindus,
Muslims, Christians, Sikhs etc., and of all languages like Hindi, Bengali,
Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Punjabi, Nicobari etc., live together in complete
peace and harmony. Inter-religion and inter-regional marriages are common. This
amazing racial and cultural mix is correctly described as Mini-India.
Forests are the green extend over gold of the
islands. The reserved and protected forests extend over 86% area of the
territory and the forest cover is more than 92 %. About 50 % of the forests has
been set aside as Tribal Reserves, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries,
which are inviolate. Luxuriant mangroves, perhaps the richest in the world,
occupy nearly II. 5 % of the territory. More than 150 plant and animals species
are endemic in nature. Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park is rich in corals,
varieties of colored fishes, sea turtles etc., besides other marine life. It is
a birds paradise - more than 271 varieties of birds inhabit the idyllic
landscape, out of which 39 are endemic. Megapode, Swiftlet, Hornbill and Nicobar
Pigeon are some of the specialties of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Islands
HAVELOCK
Home to the best beaches of the world, situated
57 kms NE of Port Blair.
Attraction:Its
white sandy beaches, spell bounding turquoise waters, coral reefs. Its two
world renowned beaches are :
VijaynagarBeach (Beach No. 5)
and Radhanagar
Beach (Beach No. 7)
Ideal for:
Snorkeling, scuba diving, elephant ride and spending time with nature.
A very
rare creation vest here in the island. uninhabited North
and South Cinque island is connected to each other through sandbar. Its
also home to pristine coral reefs.
Reaching here: It takes two hours from Chidiyatapu, and
three-and-a-half hours from Wandoor to travel to this island by boat.
Permission is required from the Forest Department to visit this island.
Location:82 km from Port Blair by sea. The beautiful Long
Island is home to a lovely sandy beach atLalajiBay. It also has a beautiful forest patch and
coconut plantations.
Reaching there:Ferry Service is available thrice a week from
the local Phoenix Bay Jetty at Port Blair.
Location:A short
boat distant from Port Blair (east of it)
The
erstwhile administrative headquarters of the British was situated here in
early 20th century. Manicured lawns that led up to clubhouses, swimming
pools, granaries, officers messes, tennis courts and a majestic church lie
in ruins, reclaimed by nature after an earthquake in June 1941. Deer and
peacock call this home. A small museum opens doors to the by gone era. The
island is small and waits to get walked the history.
Getting there:Frequent ferry service
(Govt. & private) are available. The island is open all the weekdays except
Wednesday. The place is now govern by Indian Navy.
Location:NeilIsland
is situated 36 kms east of Port Blair.
Lush green forest and sandy beaches provide an ideal holiday
destination for tourists. The beaches are quite popular with campers. There
is excellent snorkeling and scuba diving opportunity to see beautiful corals
& exotic marine life.
Reaching there:
Regular Ferry Service is available from Port
Blair to Neil Island.
Location:90 km (approx.) by sea and 170 km by road.
Rangat provides an ideal place for the
eco-friendly tourist seeking the solitude of virgin nature.
Attraction : Turtle nesting
ground at Cuthbert
Bay beach.
Getting there: The land route
from Port Blair (9 hours) crosses dense tropical forest, mangrove creeks and
also the habitations of the native people Jarawas-the tribe,.
It offers a breath taking
underwater view of coral and marine life. It is an ideal place for
snorkeling, sea bathing and basking on the sun kissed beach. Covered under
Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Parks.
(heavy damaged caused to the islands coral life due to
tsunami and is presently closed for tourists).
Another island in
MahatmaGandhiMarineNational Park is Red Skin Island.
It
has a beautiful beach offering spectacular views of corals and marine life.
It is an ideal place for snorkeling , sea bathing and basking on the sun
kissed beach.
Again an island of Historical Importance. Britishers used to
harbour convicts here. The first jail was constructed at this place later
shifted to Cellular Jail. It has a gallows atop a hillock, where condemned
prisoners were hanged. The famous rebellion Sher Ali, who killed Lord Mayo
the Viceroy of India in 1872, was also hanged here.
One of the Asia's oldest and biggest Saw Mill almost covers
this tiny island connected by a bridge over a stretch of sea-water. The
ferry harbour also rest with the island.
Location:Situated
in the northern part of Middle Andaman, Mayabunder offers excellent scenic
beauty and beautiful beaches. Inhabited by the settlers from
Burma ,
East Pakistan and ex-convicts.
Attractions:
Beach at
AvisIsland
(30 minutes boat journey from Mayabunder) Karmatang beach (13 kms.)
Karmatang beach is also a turtle nesting ground. One can view nesting of
turtles during December-February season.
Location: Situated
in
NorthAndamanIsland, Diglipur provides a rare
destination for eco-friendly tourists. Saddle
Peak(732 metres) the highest point
in the islands is nearby. Kalpong, the only
river of
Andaman
flows from here.
Attractions:
Trekking to Saddle
Peak ( Trekking equipments are
available on hire from Turtle Resort),Ram Nagar beach (15 kms. away from
Kalighat) is famous for Turtle nesting during December – February,
Location: Journey 9
hrs. by sea from Port Blair towards south. Its home to a very beautiful
beach at Butler
Bay, a waterfall and plantation of
oil palms. Apart from this there are several sandy beaches all along the
coastline of the island.
Attraction: Hutbay Waterfall, the
break water at
Hut
Bay
offers an excellent view to the tourists. The Onge tribals live in this
island.
Cellular jail located in
Port Blair, is a mute witness to the tortures meted out to the freedom
fighters, who were incarcerated in this jail. The Cellular jail, completed
in the year 1906 acquired the name "CELLULAR" because it is entirely made up
on individual cells for the solitary confinement of the prisoners. The jail,
now a place of pilgrimage for all freedom loving people, has declared as a
National Memorial.
The saga of the heroic
freedom struggle is brought alive in a moving Sound & Light show. The show
is conducted every evening in the premises of cellular jail which gives us a
brief idea about the happenings in the jail prior to the independence
Hill down side of the
Cellular Jail lies the Marina Park Complex. Tsunami on 24-12-2005 caused
considerable damage to the complex. (The Complex is under Renovation)
At the left of the Marina
Park Complex is the Water Sports Complex. If offers all possible aqua-sport
facilities like Water-skiing, Sail boats, Windsurfing, Speed Boats etc. At
the entrance a Memorial for the Battle of Aberdeen fought between Britishers
and Andamanee aboriginals in 1859 is erected. There is also a sea water
swimming pool and a change room. (The Complex is under construction these
days)
It was
the seat of the British Administration. Important ruins include a church,
swimming pool and a Chief Commissioner's residence. A small
museum of
Indian Navy
, SAMUDRIKA, has a good collection of old records.
The erstwhile Dilthaman
tank, the then only source of drinking water to Port Blair has been
developed as Gandhi Park. This is a beautiful park with historical touch of
Japanese temple and bunker, botanical falvours of rich flora and facilities
like children's park, amusement park, water sports, lake,
garden and
restaurant. The park will soon be converted to amusement part of
international standards.
Corbyns
cove beach is situated 7 kms from Port Blair. This coconut- palm fringed
beach, is ideal for swimming, surfing and sun- basking . This is the only
beach within the city a very short distance, one can enjoy the distant ross
island, cool sea breeze and kaleidoscopic view of blue waters.the complex
has restaurant and bar.
The
Chatham saw mill, one of the oldest and
largest wood mills in
Asia. Dating back to 1836, this enormous
workshops was built padauk wood (expensive wood variety). Built on a tiny
island, is connected to Port Blair by bridge. It is a store- base of timbers
like Padauk, Gurjan, Marble, Satinwood etc. Now logging in the mill is
banned and most of wood is imported from Malaysia ,
Myanmar and
Thailand.
The
Samudrika is a Marine museum owned and run by the Indian Navy. The museum
gives a good retrospect of the history, geography, people, marine life and
archaeology of these islands. It houses an impressive display of coral and
shells.
The
AnthropologicalMuseum , situated at the heart of Port Blair is one of its
kind. It gives glimpses of the tribal native peoples of the islands. It
displays tribal essentials and artifacts such as boats, weapons, baskets,
clothing, photographs, models and records of exploratory expeditions
undertaken over the years. A well-stocked library provides the scholar with
invaluable references to tribal culture.
Situated at Haddo (close
to Mini Zoo), this museum offers an insight into forest treasure of the
islands. The activities of the forest department are depicted via scale
models and displays decorative pieces made of famous woods like Padauk,
Marble, Peauma, Gurjan, Satin Wood, etc.
Chidiya Tapu is the
southern most tip of South Andaman. As its name this is favorite destination
for bird watchers. Its lush green mangroves, forest cover with numerous
chirping birds and the Sylvan Sands make it an ideal picnic site. A very
beautiful beach named Munda Pahad near by is very famous amongst the local
people. There is a forest guesthouse situated on top of a hillock providing
a fabulous view of isolated islands, breath-taking sunset also called the
sunset point.
Come and get the first
hand feel of the rare species of endemic flora and fauna of these islands.
Situated at a place Haddo (short distance from Central Bus Station). it
has very informative library and over and above life spectrum of lively
species.
Once the summer
headquarters of the Chief Commissioner during the bygone the British era,
and the highest point in Port Blair is an ideal trekking place. A short
distance by ferry boat and about 55 km from Port Blair via road,
MountHarriet
has a Forest Guest House with lovely eco-friendly huts at a height of about
365 m from sea level. Watch the small breath taking town from over
MountHarriet
, feel the sun say hello and good bye.
The park provides a rich
and varied habitat for marine animals which range from the smallest zoo
plankton to the large sea mammals like Dolphins. The
Islands inside the park are also the best
nesting grounds for four species of Marine turtles including the Green sea,
Leather Back, Hawk bill and Olive Ridley. The
redskinIsland
in the MGNM park has a nice beach, and offers spectacular view of corals and
marine life. Yet another Island in the
MGNMPark
is the Jolly Buoy which offers breath-taking underwater view of corals. The
Glass-bottom boats help the tourist to take a closer look at the coral
colonies. It is an ideal place for snorkeling, sea-bathing and sun-kissed
beach
Situated 29 Kms from Port
Blair the Mahatma Gandhi marine National Park is one of the best of its
kind. The turquoise blue water, creeks, 15 small and large islands is adobe
to finest marine ecosystems. Scuba diving, Snorkelling and water sports one
must look out for. The fascinating and wonderful world of tropical forests,
sandy beaches and clear blue waters are experience of a lifetime. The park
is easily accessible via road, there is also regular bus service to the
Park.
Comprising of 28
Islands, with an area of 1,841 sq.Kms. the Nicobar Islands are separated from
Andamans by the Ten Degree Channel.. The Nicobars abound in coconut-palm,
casuarina and pandanus. Great and Little Nicobar have the Giant Robber Crab,
Monkeys with long tail, Nicobarese Pigeons in plenty. Megapode, a rare bird is
found in Great Nicobar. The southernmost tip of India is not Kanyakumari as has
till recently been considered, it is INDIRA POINT in Great Nicobar Island.
Nicobar group is out of bounds for foreigners at present. Indians may be given
permission in exceptional cases on application.
Car Nicobar :
A rustling fan, Car Nicobar is the headquarters of Nicobar
District. It is a flat fertile island covered with cluster of coconut palms and
enchanting beaches with a roaring sea all around. The Nicobari huts, built on
stilts having entrance through floor with a wooden, ladder, are unique to this
island. 16 hrs. journey by sea from Port Blair.
Katchal : Katchal is a tiny island in the
Nicobar group. It was this island, which heralded the new millennium with the
first sunrise on 1st January 2000. This island has beautiful beaches at East
bay, Jhula and West bay.
Great Nicobar : The southern end of the
Nicobars, this island has Indira Point (formerly Pygmallion Point) the southern
most tip of India. The beach near Galathia is the nesting ground for Gaint
Leather Back Turtles. This island also has biosphere reserve area. 50-60 hrs.
journey by sea from Port Blair.
Floating
in splendid isolation, cast of the Indian mainland is the archipelago of 572
emerald islands, islets and rocks known as Andaman & Nicobar Islands. This Union
Territory is stretched over an area of more than 700 Km. from north to south
with 36 inhabited islands. Once a hill range extending from Burma (Myanmar) to
Indonesia, these undulating islands are covered with dense forests and endless
variety of exotic flowers and birds. The topography of the islands is hilly and
abounds in evergreen forests. The sandy beaches on the edge of meandering
coastline are fringed with coconut-palms that sway to the rhythm of the sea. The
sea around the islands offer excellent scope for water sports. The rare flora
and fauna, underwater marine life and corals, with crystal clear water and
mangrove-lined creeks, offer a dream-view of the rare gifts of nature. The clean
and wide roads, free of filth as well as unpolluted fresh air attract any
nature-lover, who seek absolute peace and tranquility in the lap of mother
nature. Adventure tourism like trekking, island camping, snorkeling, scuba
diving etc., are the real attractions. A visit to these islands is a memorable
lifetime experience.
