There’s something idyllic about holidays; maybe it’s the feeling of being in an entirely different place. That sense of being somewhere unknown, being able to explore and learn new things, try new dishes, and meet new people. When it comes to holidays, the best place you can go to is an island. The main advantage of holidaying on an island is the number of beaches, the serene beauty embedded within the beds of the ocean.
What can be better than holidaying on an island? If you want a vacation on an island in India, the Andaman Islands is the perfect place for you and your loved ones. When you travel to the Andaman Islands, you have a choice to either stay put on one island or you can explore the many islands.
Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago is home to around 572 islands, but only a handful is open to tourist, that too only in Andaman. Most of them are located in the Andaman group, 28 of which are inhabited. The smaller Nicobar Island is the home of the 22 more islands out of which 10 are inhabited.
Climatic Condition of Andaman:
Before visiting this exotic Island, it is recommended to know about the climatic conditions of the same. The island has a tropical climate. There is no fury of hot summer, no chilling winter, no traffic jams and no water clogging. The south-west monsoon sets in Andaman and Nicobar Island towards the end of the May and the northeast monsoon in November. There is no special time to visit this island. You can make your holiday plan at any time of year. Well, the north – Indians find relief from the burning heat and chilling winter if they visit in the months of May, June, July, and in December and January. If you’re a nature lover and wish to spend some quality time in the lap of nature, then you should visit from May to December when forests are lush green and waterfalls are at their prime.
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Let’s discover the Havelock Island
Havelock is the most tourist friendly, which is the largest in the Ritchie Archipelago in Greater Andamans. Beaches and Mangrove forests make Havelock the most spectacular island in the Bay of Bengal, describing it in words wouldn’t do it justice. The interesting thing that you learn on reaching Havelock is that the beaches had a number, the favourite beach was number 7. Your first introduction to Havelock is Beach No 1 where you land, beside the jetty. It’s bustling with people, and then as you move along the other beaches, you’ll be sure to notice that there is hardly anyone.
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There is a small market along Beach No 1 and adjacent to the market are ferries that will take you to Elephant Beach. Although Beach No 2 is closed for tourists, it is used by the diving schools to give beginners a taste of scuba diving. The tourist resorts are spread out in a line on Beach No 3 and Beach No 5. There seems to be a trend here of naming the resorts after the villages. Govindnagar has a small market with shops, restaurants and ATM outlets. Diving Schools have opened their centres here. One of the world’s best beach is called Radhanagar, also known as Beach No 7.
The drive to this village from the main jetty is truly a feast for the eyes; forests, fields, hillocks welcome u. The entire scenery goes through a drastic change; it isn’t just the rustic world that beckons you, but the birds and flowers that surround you in this picturesque paradise.
If Radhanagar is your destination, then the experience is Barefoot at Havelock. It isn’t the tents, great food, or the private beach. It’s the whole feeling, in many ways Barefoot gives out an ambience of Havelock. As you walk through the dense forest, a small narrow path is lined with thick bushes and mysterious shadows of trees lead you to an austere private beach.
The spotless white sand settles softly around your feet while time stands still watching the waves keep changing their mood from angry, excited to simply lazy is the only way you can keep track of it. The waves are full or passion or sometimes, just a tease, maybe that’s the reason beaches are considered so romantic. The silence of your thoughts soothes you. As the clouds flow past you, the colours of the ocean keep changing, but time stands still. The birds and the waves call out to you, while you stand there in awe absorbing that perfect moment.
Radhanagar beach has no watersports, although there is a diving school that takes you out to excursions to South Batton Island or Turtle Bay, and sometimes Beach No 2. As there are many diving schools, it would be a wiser decision to keep your options open with other schools. If water is your turf, then scuba diving is a must, as you can plunge to the depths of the ocean and have a tryst with the exotic colours and the natural beauty of the marine world. If scuba diving isn’t your thing, then Snorkeling over the coral reef is no less spectacular, with several schools of reef fish and the dazzling corals that blind you with their hues. As there is hardly anyone around, these excursions are pristine and amazing. Havelock is a place that doesn’t let you go. You can bike up and down to all the beaches, to the various markets. The sea is wild and untamed while the mangled branches lay intertwined. The silence of the isolated beach echoes through the waves, standing there you realize that nature isn’t always perfect, it’s savage, daunting and dramatic. While you stand there for a while letting the wild oceans bathe your restless minds before you head out to the secure world. For those who want the unique experience of staying at a Beach Resort should move to Beach No 5, where the silver sands and turquoise blue waters show you beauty at its best. While you laze upon your hammocks watching the Twilight engulf the skies, kingfishers call upon you. There are smaller islands that the cruise takes you along in the Ritchie Archipelago besides North, South and Middle Button; you can see Lawrence Island, there is also a rumour of an elephant that roams around in the wild. You cannot land on any shore without permission, and the islands are inhabited. Tourism is very strictly regulated which also includes the number of boats on the sea on any day including the number of passengers the ships can carry.
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Wildlife of Andaman and Nicobar Island:
The Andaman and Nicobar Island is the beautiful club of the 572 emerald islands, only a few of them are inhabited and most of them are untouched and unexplored to the world. This island is the home to 9 national parks and 96 sanctuaries. Rich marine life, enchanting bird species, evergreen forest, undersea wealth and reef make you a quite different experience of wildlife from all over the country. Almost 86.2% area is covered with diverse kind of vegetation. The island has almost 270 species of birds including 14 endemic birds. The endemic birds are Andaman crake, Andaman scops owl, Andaman drongo, Andaman woodpecker, Narcondam hornbill, Andaman woodpigeon, Andaman hawk – owl, white-headed starling and a lot more. This island is solely known for having rice and diverse kind of marine life. Out of 1000 marine life on the coral, approximately 135 are of the Andaman alone. As you plunge into the water, you’ll enjoy the stunning coral heads and a variety of fishes. Butterflies are the most spectacular feature of the wildlife of this island. It has 225 species of beautiful butterflies and out of this number, almost 10 are endemic to this Island.
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Hotels in Andaman and Nicobar Island:
This island is known for its impeccable beauty and exotic looks. Well, this is the home to the countless hotels and other accommodation facilities. Some of the best hotels of this island are a seashell hotel, barefoot of Havelock, Dolphin resort, Munjoh ocean resort, Sinclair’s bay view and a lot more. All these hotels are offering the luxurious and world – class facilities to the visitors. These resorts really make your stay memorable with the warming hospitality and homely facilities.
Adventure Sports in Andaman and Nicobar Island:
This pristine island really offers some of the memorable water sports to the visitors. The facility of water sport is mainly available in the Port Blair and other islands. As this island is surrounded by the rich coral reef ecosystem, therefore, it offers the unforgettable diving experience. The Rajiv Gandhi water sports complex in Port Blair offers safe water sports and other adventure activities such as joy rides, Jet Ski, and banana rides. The North Bay beach offers the snorkelling opportunities around its fringing coral reefs. The activities include scuba diving, sea walk, speed boat cruise, and snorkelling. This place is also perfect for the wilderness trekking.
Fairs and Festivals of Andaman:
To offer the best and unique lifetime experience to the visitors, the tourism department usually organizes the plenty of fails and festivals. These include a food festival, film festival, beach festival, monsoon festival, and world tourism day celebrations and island tourism festival. These festivals really make the holiday memorable. The beach festival is the recent addition to the list of festivals so as to cater to the needs of the beach lovers. Apart from this, the weekend market is also organized from time to time so that locals can showcase their products to the tourists. All these things actually sweeten the holiday.
