Andaman-Nicobar - Andaman-Nicobar Islands - निकोबार-अंडमान (निकोबार द्वीप समूह)

Co-ordinates 12.665546,92.889662 State Andaman and Nicobar Islands Nearby Stations Nearby Places Port Blair Wikipedia Link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andaman_and_Nicobar_Islands

More Images

Port Blair is capital of the Andaman and Nicobar island group and the largest city in the group. The islands exist in India's popular consciousness mainly because they were used as a penal colony by the British rulers to imprison rebels and freedom fighters, in addition to hardened criminals. Most of the inhabitants of these islands are in fact migrants from the mainland, some of them being descended from the prisoners.

Andaman waters offer a fascinating world of under-water marine life, varieties of colorful fishes, rarest of the coral reefs in the the world, mysterious remains of sunken ships, etc. All these can be explored through Scuba diving. Andaman & Nicobar Scuba Diving Society situated at Wandoor provides Scuba Diving opportunities. Private divers are also available. One can enjoy the under-water marine life and view the rarest varieties of corals by snorkeling near the Andaman Water Sports Complex, Corbyn's Cove Tourism Complex, Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, Havelock and other islands on all days from dawn to dusk depending on weather.

The original inhabitants are a bunch of aboriginal tribes who exist more or less out of the mainstream. There are some tribes who have had no contact whatsoever with the rest of the world. Of nearly 600 islands, only 9 are open to foreign tourists, and all of these are in the Andamans.

The climate is tropical with temperatures ranging from 23°C (75-85 F) to 28°C (78-95 F).
The best season to visit would be from October to May.

The main island is divided into 3 portions - North Andaman, Middle Andaman and South Andaman. Port Blair is located on South Andaman.

How to Reach

Air

Andaman is well connected to Chennai

Sea

Regular passenger ship services are available to Port Blair from Chennai, Kolkatta (Calcutta) and Visakhapatnam and back. The voyage takes about three days and the ship normally berths at Port Blair for about two days.

Accomodation

The Wild Orchid Resort - Havelock Island, Fortune Resort Bay Island, Hotel Sinclairs, Barefoot Havelock Jungle Resort.

Packages

Andaman Package, Tour Extension Packages, Budget Package, Economy Package, Executive Package.

Corbyn's Cove

It is the nearest beach to Port Blair. It is 4 km from the airport and 10 km from the town.Bicycle is the best local transport which one can hire in Abeerdeen Bazaar to Corbyn's Cove.

Havelock Islands

Again this island is full of Bengali settlers. The main attraction of these islands are not the picturesque white sand beaches or turquoise waters or the coral reefs but the Dolphins, Turtles and very large fishes attract most of the tourists. It is 45 km from Port Blair.

Neil Islands

These predominantly Bengali populated islands are 40 km from Port Blair and offers good beaches for snorkelling. Though some of the corals have been damaged nevertheless it is a very scenic spot to be. Here the beach are numbered and beach number 1 has some lovely hammocks under trees which are very popular among the campers. There is also a fresh water well. One can watch very large fish from these islands. But becomes difficult to cross the corals to the sea during the low tides.

Chiriya Tapu

A tiny fishing village with beaches and mangroves, Chiriya Tapu is 30 km from Port Blair. From Chiriya Tapu there is a beach which is well known for snorkelling.

Wandoor

There are number of good beaches on Wandoor but watch for the strong currents. The marine park of Wandoor includes the uninhabited North and South Cinque. Cinque islands are among the most beautiful islands in the Andamans. It is surrounded by pristine coral reefs. Here only day trips are allowed and permission has to taken from the forest department.