The Andaman Islands
This group of over 500 islands, though belong to the Indian Republic since 1947, lie closest to the island of Phuket, Thailand. It is located in the Bay of Bengal about 650 miles south of Calcutta, between mainland India and the west coast of Thailand. The islands are divided into two groups, furthest south - the Nicobar Islands and to the north the Andaman Islands. No foreigners are currently permitted to visit the Nicobars.
The Andaman Islands cover slightly over 2500 square miles and comprise of over 300 islands. The main ones being North, Middle and South Andaman Islands.
Not all the islands are open to foreign visitors.
Port Blair, with a population of 30,000 is the administrative capital of the region and is connected to the outside world through flights via Calcutta or Chennai(Madras) or a three days boat journey. Flights are limited and are booked up well in advance. Hence the islands remained free from mainstream tourism and the diving industry is still in its infancy.
Marco Polo was probably the first foreigner to visit the islands and since then few except for the British Navy and more recently the Japanese during the Second World War have landed at Port Blair. Current population consist of the tribal Nigritos, Tamils from Sri Lanka and settlers from the mainland.
The Ecology and topology of the Andaman Islands (over 300 islands) are unique. Being partly volcanic some of the larger islands are mountainous and covered with dense rain forests while over 11% of the land mass is surrounded by one of the world's richest mangroves. The main attractions for divers are, however, the pristine water surrounding the islands which is home to a large number and variety of pelagic and the varied underwater topology which makes for more interesting dives. Not least of the interesting sights are the SNORKELING ELEPHANTS and saltwater crocodiles.
