Halo Backwaters

District   of Andaman is Northern Part of Andaman & Nicobar Islands and comprises of 550 Islands, Islets and   rocks out of which only 26 are inhabited. Some of these  islands are large such as Middle Andaman, North     Andaman,    South Andaman, Baratang and Little   Andaman islands. The northern most island is Landfall and southern most Little Andaman. The total area     of Andaman    District is 6,408 Sq.Kms. The highest    point of the territory  is also situated in this District at Diglipur.    There are four primitive tribes in Andaman     District and they have been   recognised as belonging to the Negrito stock, namely Great Andamanese, Onges, Jarawas and Sentinelese.

Floating in       splendid isolation, east of the Indian mainland is the archipelago of 572 emerald islands, islets and       rocks known as     Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This Union Territory is stretched over an area of more than   800 kms.    from north to   south with 36 inhabited islands. Once a   hill range    extending from       Burma(Myanmar)    to 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.

Mythologically   , the      name Andaman     was presumed to be derived from Hanuman, who was known to the  Malays as Handuman. Since    pre-historic     times, these islands were the home of aboriginal    tribes. The tribes    of the   Andaman group         of     islands      are      the       Great Andamanese        , Onges     ,     Jarawas  , and Sentinalese     , 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, 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 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 one of the riches in the world, occupy    nearly 11.5%      of the   territory.      More than 150 plant    and animal species are endemic in nature.    Mahatma   Gandhi Marine National Park is rich in corals, varieties of coloured fishes, sea turtles etc., besides other marine life. It is a bird's paradise - more than   271 varieties of birds inhabit the     idyllic landscape, out of which  39 are endemic.    Megapode, Swiflet,   Hornbill and Nicobar, Pigeon are some of the specialties of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The Andaman   Islands, comprising India’s most remote state, are situated 1000 km off the east coast in the middle   of the Bay of Bengal,  connected tot eh mainland by flights and ferries from Kolkata, Chennai    and Vishakapatnam.   Thickly covered    by    deep green tropical forest, the archipelago supports a profusion of wildlife, including some    extremely  rare species of bird, but the principal attraction     for tourists    lies offshore, around the pristine reefs ringing most of the islands.      Filling with colorful     fish     and    kaleidoscopic   corals, the crystal clear waters of the Andaman sea feature some of the world’s    riches and least spoilt marine reserves – perfect for snorkeling and effort required to     get there, the    lack if infrastructure and certain increases health rick, as well as ethical     concerns about ecological and tribal issues rather outweigh the benefits of a trip.

For administrative   purpose, the Andamans are   grouped with the Nicbar Islands.200 km further south but, as yet,   strictly off – limits to   foreigners.  Approximatley   200 islands  make up the Andamans grop and nineteen the Nicobar.    They are islands   of varying size, the summits of a submarine mountain range stretching 755 km from the Arakan Yoma chain in Burma (Myanmar) to the fringes of Sumatra in the south. All but the most remote of these are populated in parts by indigenous tribes whose numbers have been    slashed dramatically    as a   result of nineteenth century European settlement and,   more recently,   rampant deforestation..Today, new felling is supposed to be a thing of the   past, and all of the islands forests are officially protected, though there is evidence that padauk   and teak are still being    used  extensively for building materials, furniture and tourist knick – knacks.

Foreign tourists are only permitted to visit certain parts of  the Andaman group, separated by the deep Ten Degree Channel from the   Nicobar Islands . The point of arrival for boats and planes is South Andaman, where the predominately    Tamil and Bengali community in the small but busy capital Port Blair, accounts for almost half the total population. Permits now obtainable on arrival by both sea and air are granted for a     stay of one month.    Permits are usually extendable for fifteen days beyond te original thirty but the authorities sometimes only allow you to stay in Port Blair for that period.

Although closer to mainland Myanmar the  Andamans still runs on Indian time and hence it gets dark by 6 PM and light by 4 AM.   The town   is spread over several hills, but most of the hotels, bus     stands and shops are     centered in the   central area of Aberdeen Bazaar. The airport is located a   few   kilometers south of the town and the nearest beach is at Corbyn’s Cove about 7 Kms away.

The Andaman   Group has  ,  at  the extreme north, Lands  Fall   island    followed  by   the three main islands of North Andaman, Middle Andaman       and     South    Andaman  – all separated    from each     other     by shallow seas. This area is known as Great Andaman. Further south, about 100 kms from Port Blair lays the    Little Andaman Island . Apart from this,    there   are   a large number of smaller islands almost insignificant in size.

There    are   only a   handful of sights in Port Blair but    if you have a yen for scuba diving, fishing or bird watching, you will find plenty to do.

Cellular Jail – Build by British between 1886 – 1906, the   cellular Jain is today preserved as a shrine to Indian Freedom Fighters and is a major tourist attraction.

Museums – Maintained, by the Indian Navy,is the Samudrika marine museum that has galleries dedicated to   the history, geography marine life,archaelogy and the people of the islands. There is an interesting     Aquarium formally known    as the Fisheries museum that displays over 350 species of the Andaman sea. The    Anthropological    museum   displays   the tools, dress and photographs of the different indigenous tribes of the    Andaman   and there is also an interesting library here    and the museum   is open   on all  days except Sundays and public holidays. The Forest museum houses samples of locally grown woods, including padauk.

Mini Zoo –   There are over 20 indigenous species of animals found exclusively on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.A few can be seen at this mini zoo.

Chattam Sawmill –    This is the    largest wood processing unit in Asia.  Situated on Chatham Island5 km away from Aberdeen bazaar.

Water Sports Complex – There is water sports complex   close to the Aquarium there you can rent rowboats.

Around Port Blair

Viper Island –   Near Haddo harbour at the mouth   of Port Blair   where convicts  were interned before the Cellular jail was completed stands the ruins of a mute reminder to the tragic history of this region.This island was named Viper after a British ship that was wrecked here in the 19^th century.  

Mt Harrier   &   Madhuban   – Across    the inlet,north   of Port Blair is Mt Harriet (365 m) where    there    is a     nature trail right to the top.With prior permission you can stay at the lovely     forest     guesthouse   of  the Forest Department.

Ross Island –    Couple of kilometers east of Port Blair       is     Ross Island  ,       formely administrative    capital   of the British  now in ruins.      One top of the     hill stand the remains     of an impressive    Anglican church  and the Subaltern’s club

Corbyn’s Cove    – Lying  7  kms    south  of Port Blair,    this  is the closest beach to Port Blair, and one of the most  popular. The water is warm with gentle    surf and the white sand beach is clean and  palm fringed. The easiest way     to get   here is by taxi and there are a couple      of     good though slight overpriced 

restaurant here.

Sippighat Farm – About 15 kms away from Port Blair is this   Government demonstration farm, where   you get to see cash crops such as spices and other plants being propagated.

Wandor – About 30 kms out of Port Blair is Wandoor home to Mahatma Gandhi National Marine park     comprising  15 islands, covering an area of 280 sq kms separated by deep blue waters.

Chiruya Tapu – At the south tip      of south Andaman is Chiraya Tapu,a tiny fishing village with mangroves, excellent beaches and    good snorkeling popular  bird watching destination,Chiraya Tapu makes an easy day visit being only and hour away by road and is well worth visiting.

Neil Island –    Predominantly populated by Bengalis,   situated  40 Kms northeast of port Blair is the Neil Island , an excellent place for snorkeling and swimming.

Havelock Island –    A principal    centre  of tourism outside Port Blair, Havelock Island is indeed a    beach lovers  paradise  with white beaches  ,     crystal    clear     waters    and snorkeling.    The marine    life  here includes dolphins, turtles and large    fish.   This is the most      popular  island with the tourists, but bewares      of the     sand flies that can be a nuisance. There are a   few good places here to stay.

Long Island – This settlement has only one village and a plywood factory dominates it. Located off the   southeast coast of Middle Andaman, Long Island is    eight hours way by ferry from Port Blair.

Middle Andaman –    The Andaman     Trunk Road      is the   only road that connects north to Bharatang Island and Middle Andaman,   besides ferries.     Independent travel      by road is not permitted as the road passes through    restricted    Jarwa tribal reserve.However, there are daily buses to Rangat and Mayabunder with armed guards to keep the often hostile Jarwa at bay.

North Andaman –    The only place    in North Andaman where foreigners are permitted to stay overnight is Diglipur.

Cinque Island –      North and South Cinque is part     of the      Wandoor National park   and is uninhabited. Only day visit are permitted here and iif you are not part of a trip organized by travel agents, you will need tot get permission from t he forest Department to visit.

Little Andaman –     Northern Little Andaman is     open to   visitors and about a hundred of the remaining members of the    Onge tribes are confines to a reserve south of this island. The main beach at Buttler Bay is good for swimming but not snorkeling.