As our flight from Chennai approached Portblair, the view from the plane window seemed like an intricate pattern of land and sea... the Andaman - Nicobar archipelago contains over 150 islands spread out in the form of banana. The islands forming Andaman group consist of North, Middle and South Andaman popularly known as Great Andaman. These islands are separated from one another by narrow straits Each of the Andaman Islands have dense rain forest and hills in the center and the peripheries are dotted by beaches or mangroves. Out of these numerous islands only about 30 are occupied by civilized society.
Our first stop was Portblair, which is popular for the "kaala paani"- cellular jail having housed Veer Savarkar for a over a decade. Besides the jail Portblair does have some beaches and some shopping options, but its a largely touristy. If you are on a time crunch minimize your time here....
Place to stay: Nicobari Cottages at Megapode Nest (Excellent view of the port)
Sea food lovers must visit: Annapurna lunch home (Most amazing crab & prawn biryani)
On the next day, we started our journey for Bartang which is in Middle Andamans. We need to cross the Jarwa- reserve forest in order to get to Bartang; Parts of Andamans are reversed for the native Jarwa's who are one of the indigenous people of the Andaman Islands. They are the last few tribes on earth who have shunned interactions with outsiders and chosen to live within their designated forest as result many particulars of their society, culture and traditions are not know to us. The government allows cars & buses to travel through the forest only in convoys at specific time. Each convoy is escorted by a police car. Our convoy entered the the forest at about 2pm; half way through the forest we see a group of playful children, watching the cars in sort of fascinated manner, but still pointing their bamboo sticks at them. Just round the next corner we see a young man with deep yellow-ish eyes and dark complexion holding a wooden bow aimed slightly above our car. Our guide informs us, the Jarwa people are very skill full archers; but will not attack the convoy unless provoked.
The charming island of Bartang is sustained on fishing, farming and now little bits of tourism. Bartang also houses India's only Mud volcano; which looks like a large over-baked mudpie. Bartang has a dense mangrove cover around it; which houses the famous "Parrot island" home to thousands of parrots which fly in at dusk almost in unison.
From Bartang we traveled to Havelock via Portblair by ship. Havelock is a diver's pradasie ! The corals reefs surrounding Havelock are absolutely mind-bogglingly. We spotted some amazing clown fish, a lion fish ready to attach, a shoal of parrot fish and a friendly octopus.
Havelock has several PADI certified agencies which help you organize snorkeling and diving trips along with courses and certifications. Havelock's Radhanagr Beach (Beach Number 7) is considered one of the best beaches in Asia ... The sea is crystal clear, the waves are huge and if your lucky , you can spot dolphins jumping far off :-) . Also this is the beach where the famous swimming elephants of Andaman come for a dip in the ocean !
Food options:
- Nirvana seeking foreigner run cafes which offer fancy world cuisines
- Bengali aunties who will grumble if you don't finish your desert, but do provide yummy meals.
Note of caution:
- Andamans is a slightly rustic location, there are not many fancy hotels/services even though they maybe rated 3/4 star..
- Sea crocodiles and sea snakes consider most of these islands their home...
Escape Route: You can flee to Burma in six hours by a boat.
When you want to splurge:
- Sea planes and helicopters are available to charter between islands.
- Rent a yacht
