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///// home – travels – india – andamans /////
the hidden and lost paradise of
::
t h e A N D A M A N I S
L A N D S ::
The Andaman Islands are
part of the Indian union territory called the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands. The two remote island groups are Indian outposts
closer to South East Asia than the Indian
subcontinent and this can clearly be seen on the geography.
The islands, which boast
superb deserted beaches and a unique flora and fauna, are hilly and heavily
forested by impenetrable jungle and mangroves. Many of the islands are
separated by narrow channels creating idyllic backwaters and lagoons with
beautiful coral reefs. There’s a rural idyll with small rice farms
fringing the vast jungle and fishermen live by the coastlines. Theses
settlers from mainland India
coexist with a small aboriginal population who live deep in the jungle and
on remote islets. Paradise
beckons – The Andamans may well be one of the best kept secrets of India.
I (Jakob) visited the
Andamans for two weeks in July 2007 with my girlfriend Rie. It was an
incredible experience and we had a great time in this small and exotic
slice of the Indian Ocean.
Getting
there
There’s two ways of
reaching Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman
Islands. Either by flight from Chennai or Kolkata, or by ferry
from the same ports. The ferries only runs once a month and is extremely
slow but flights go once every day with three different flight companies
(India Airlines, Air Deccan or Jet Airways).
We took a quite fearful
flight with Air Deccan – the weather was bad and clouds covered most
of the small airstrip which is situated in the hilly interior of Great South Andaman
Island close to Port
Blair. In the monsoon season the flights are often cancelled due to bad
weather. A 15-day permit is issued on arrival in Port Blair airport.
After a day in Port Blair
we took the 6:30 AM ferry to Havelock
Island, one of the
most beautiful islands with gorgeous beaches, eco-friendly accommodation
possibilities and a laid back atmosphere.
The ferry
going to Havelock and Neil Islands
from Port Blair is often cancelled
due to bad
weather, but it’s the only way to get there. The trip takes 3 hours.
Arrival on
the north side of Havelock
Island
The small
Jetty on Havelock
Island
The Islands
Nature
The remote Andaman Islands
(the Andamans) lie in a long and narrow chain (475 km in longitudinal
distance) forming an arc in the waters south of Myanmar towards the tip of
Sumatra. The Andamans are hilly islands with narrow valleys and they are
all covered by exceedingly dense jungle. The coasts are largely surrounded
by mangrove swamps with small stretches of white sand beaches and the
seascape is breathtaking and colorful with small hilly islets scatted in
the crystal blue sea glistering on beautiful coral beds.
Map showing the remote location of the Andaman Islands
Havelock island is a small island in Ritchie’s
Archipelago, an island group off the east coast of South Andaman. It is one
of the only accessible islands which can be visited in the Andamans.
Radhanagar Beach (beach no. 7) on Havelock Island
Sunset from Havelock Island east coast
A child takes
a late-afternoon dip in the ocean
Picture-perfect beaches
and clear waters
The Andamans are
heavily forested with deciduous forest and eucalyptus trees.
Anthropology
First of all, I decided to
make this section because it is so good damn interesting!
The few indigenous tribal
people who live in the Andaman archipelago are the Jarawas, Onge, Great
Andamanese and Sentinelese – all belong to the Negrito (aboriginal)
race. The
tribal people often described by anthropologists as 'pygmies', may actually
represent the first Asians - an early wave of 'out of Africa', who reached
the Far East more than 40,000 years ago and have since evolved separately
from most of the other native people of Asia, the South Seas and Australia.
The Onge and Jarawa
tribal people used to be semi-nomadic but today they live in large
reserves. Still, they are some of the most primitive tribes in India
and the world, and live by hunting, fishing and gathering – a
behavior resembling those practiced in the Stone Age. Cannibalism and
hostility have made Europeans and Arabians evade these islands through
history. Describing the tribes in his travel journals, the 13th-century
explorer Marco Polo wrote: 'They are a most violent and cruel generation
who seem to eat everybody they catch'.
The most isolated community
in the world is the Sentinelese which inhabits North Sentinel
Island. The first
ever friendly contact was made shortly in 1991 and only very few contacts
have been made ever since. Accidentally drifted fishermen from other
islands in the Andamans have been killed in recent years and a helicopter
was send to investigate after the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami which also
struck the Andamans - the helicopter was attacked by naked tribal warriors
with bows and arrows and left the island before landing – fortunately
this event proved that this magnificent culture survived the tsunami. The
Sentinelese tribal people, which has been called the last Stone Age tribe
in the world, live in temporary huts and both men and women are naked. They
lack the skills to make fire and a word to describe a number greater than
two. The estimated population is only 100.
  
Left: Great
Andamanese hunters. Photograph from 1906-08.
Middle: Jarawa youngsters. Picture taken in 1980s.
Right:
Sentinelese tribal people.
Source: Pictures adapted from www.kirchersociety.org and the highly interesting
site about the Andaman tribes http://www.andamans.org
There used to be more
than 10.000 tribal people in the Andamans (a century ago) but the
intermingling with the settlers has led to a huge drop due to poor
immunity. Along with them, the present day Andaman Islands are home to
descendants of thousands of prisoners from all parts of India who constituted the penal
settlement during the British Raj. The settlers live in the southern part
of South Andaman
Island, Rithie’s
Archipelago, Little Andaman Island and in a few coastal villages in Middle
and North Andaman Island.
On my trip to the
Andamans it was very sad to hear that the Indian settlers not only
interfere with the Jarawa and Onge tribes by giving them tobacco and
alchohol (and diseases), which destroys their culture, but also kill the
animals they hunt and sexually abuse Jarawa women.
Unfortunately we
didn’t meet any tribal people on your visit to the Andamans. It is
said that you can bump into them on the 13 hour bus trip from Port Blair to
the northernmost village Diglipur, but we didn’t take this trip. On
South Andaman island there are many coastal villages with people from the
non-hostile Onge tribe and it should be fairly easy to spot them. Little Andaman Island is extremely remote and there
is no accommodation or shops whatsoever. Next time I’m in India
and the Andamans I will definitely try to haul a ship from Port Blair to
Little Andaman Island to learn more about the Onge tribe which is more
integrated and open-minded towards contact with the outer world. A decent
gift for a visit would be a pig or chicken or so.
Ultimately I would like
to visit the small island group between the Andamans and Sumtra called the Nicobar Islands. These islands are home to two
mongoloid tribes, the Shompen and Nicobarese. The few Shompens are
hunter-gatherers and the 30.000 Nicobarese tribes are so-called
horticulturalists with a unique culture with Christian religion. Being more
developed and un-sensitive towards interference it would be very
interesting to visit this culture. Unfortunately, the Indian government
presently restricts by special permit and non-Indian citizens are forbidden
from visiting the Nicobar Islands.
Most of the archipelago is
inhabited by
Early morning fog in the forests
settlers from mainland India
Havelock Island
Havelock Island is a true paradise. It is the largest island in
Ritchie’s Archipelago and is together with Neil Island
also the most visited. This may be due to the incredible settings and
friendly population, but also because it is one off the few islands in the
archipelago which tourists are permitted to visit.
When we arrived on the
island at the small jetty in early morning with the morning ferry from Port
Blair, the small market at the jetty was about to wake up. Only a few people
noticed us among the Indians when we came from the ferry; we were the only
tourists that day. We got a stamp in our Andaman Travel Permits which were
handed to us the day before in the airport. We were visitors number
3000-something so far in 2007… It feels nice to know that we’re
not on the beaten track – it feels like something special is waiting
for us… And yes, these islands were indeed something special.
Spectacular nature and a quietness which I bet cannot be found any other
places in India.
Beach no. 7 – Radhanagar Beach – is a 2 km stretch of white sand
Another shot
of Beach no. 7
Elephant Beach on the northern
shores of Havelock
Island
The Garden of
Eden… The jungle takes over!
Elephant Beach is only reachable by boat
Rain clouds
in the horizon at the isolated Crystal Beach, a surfers spot
We were
hijacked by some friendly locals who came from the Emerald Gecko Resort
– although we wanted to find our own place to stay we had already
planned to stay in this eco-friendly place before arrival, so we jumped
into a jeep and drove through small villages, rice fields and jungle for
ten minutes before arriving at the guesthouse.
We spent the next 10 days
on this quiet haven with relax-max beach trips, island jumping, diving and
snorkeling, walking trips in the jungle and rice fields, and trying to
understand our presence in such a beautiful place. The island has stunning
nature scenes; some beaches are overgrown by mangrove forests and others
are empty pristine beaches suitable for sunbathing and swimming.
Every beach is framed by
huge trees or palm trees. Is seems that nature has taken total control of
everything on Havelock
Island. The beaches
are numbered 1 till 7 according to the nearest village which are also
numbered – very inventive! Radhanager
Beach, or Beach no. 7, situated on
the west coast, was rated as the best beach in Asia
by Time
Magazine in 2004. Elephant
Beach on the north coast
is only reachable by boat and the other beaches (1-5) in the eastern part
of the island can be reached easily. Many of the guesthouses are situated
along beaches no. 3 and 5. My favorite beach was definitely beach no. 3
– extremely tranquil and no other people at all.
Looking
towards beach no. 3
Approaching
beach no. 2
Between beaches no. 2 and
no. 3
Between beaches no. 2 and
no. 3
Leaning palm
trees… Hmmmm
The shoreline
at Beach no. 3 is lined by mangrove forest
Between beaches
no. 1 and no. 2
Beach no. 1
right beside the jetty is used by local fishermen
Unnamed beach
in the very south of Havelock
Island
Deep forests
with trees I’ve never seen before, create a special atmosphere
The tidal landscape
reveal a beautiful sea floor
Fisherman at
beach no. 2
Rice fields
in the northern part of Havelock
Island
Havelock Island is a part of Ritchie’s Archipelago. Only a
few of the islands in this island group can be visited on the tourist permit.
Anyway, there’s not much to the other islands because many of them
are completely overgrown by jungle and inaccessible due to mangrove
forests. Only Havelock and Neil Island
have a small resident population of Bengali settlers. It is possible to
rent a fishing boat and visit a few of the other islands. One island not to
miss is astonishing Inglis
Island, which is
totally isolated and untouched by mankind. Inglish Islands
has picture-perfect white sand beaches and a quite spooky and deep jungle
with strange sounds and smells.
Inglis Island in the northernmost part of Rithies Archipelago
Loads of
crayfish everywhere
We took a
boat trip to visit the totally deserted Inglish Island
Old boat left
in the mangroves. We were told that crocodiles inhabit these waters
Spectacular
sunsets from beach no. 5 at low tide, Havelock Island
The Society
Only the northernmost
part of Havelock
Island is accessible and
populated. A small paved road curves it way through the hilly interior from
the eastern shores to Radhanagar
Beach on the west
coast. Most of the scenery is impenetrable jungle in the interior, but a
few places small rice fields and plantations break the emptiness of the
jungle and give rise to small villages scattered along the fields and
crops.
There are 5 villages on Havelock Island with a total population of
about 6000 people (2007). Most people work with farming and fishing. The people
on the island seem to be happy and pleased with a quit island life and the
society is not as poor as in mainland India, e.g. there are no
extreme poverty.
In the northernmost
village near the jetty are some shops selling all kinds of food and on the
street is a market selling fruits and fresh fish. There’s one school
on the island and a couple of yellow school buses which maneuver the small
roads to pick up the children. There are only 20 or so cars on the island
– mostly land rovers - and some scooters.
Only people who work on
the bungalow resorts speak English.
Fishing is a
living for many of the settlers
The dead
coral formations at the seafloor is chopped off at low tide
and used for making a concrete-like
material
 
A rural
atmosphere is omnipresent
The only road
on Havelock Island and the only village with a
school and small shops
Fresh fruits
are sold daily by the elder people near the jetty on Havelock Island
The locals are
willing to rent out their fishing boats for island jumping. It is very
cheap!
The fishermen
guarantees tuna or sail fish steaks for dinner
Fishing boat
near the mangroves at John
Lawrence Island
Small crops
are grown a few places by farmers living in simple huts with tin roofs
Rice farming
is widespread in the very northern part of Havelock Island.
Elsewhere, the
island is
covered by dense and impenetrable jungle.
Rice crops in
ordered and leveled quadrants which somewhat reminded me of Bali
Old lady
fishing for reef fishes with hook and line in the mangroves.
Accommodation
& Activities
There’s about ten
places to stay at Havelock
Island. Barefoot India
is a resort-like place on beach no.7 where Indians from the mainland stay
one or two days, drink beer and feel the emptiness that certainly cannot be
found many places on the mainland. The other places are small
bungalow-style places on beaches no. 3 and 5.
We stayed at
a highly recommendable eco-friendly place right by beach no. 5 called
Emerald Gecko. There are normal and two-storey bungalows, both very cheap,
with “open air” bathrooms and balconies. The bungalows are made
by palm thatch and floating timber which came with the 2004 tsunami from Myanmar.
Although we saw a rat in the bathroom the overall experience of living in
such an “open air” bungalow where you can hear the ocean and
the wind blowing is highly recommendable and unforgettable. The kitchen
boys (chefs) at Emerald Gecko make delicious vegetarian and seafood dishes.
Every night one can choose between Indian dishes and the days catch fresh
from the sea, usually sail fish steaks, tuna steaks or lobster. Everything
is served with vegetables from Havelock
Island……
and they serve ice-cold Aussie beers. Price level: Dinner + beers about 6-8
US$.
While we
stayed there some couples from France,
Germany and Finland
where also there. Later some guys from Ireland
and Israel
arrived. All had some lazy days on Havelock
enjoying the quit island atmosphere and the mind-blowing scenery.
The friendly
manager at Emerald Gecko can arrange island-jumping, scooter rental,
fishing trips and know everything about Havelock Island.
When it comes
to activities most people tend to gear down and crash in a hammock at their
bungalow or chill out at one of the deserted beaches. But if you want to
explore the island and Ritchie’s Archipelago you can do snorkeling
and diving, beach combing, scooter trips, sunbathing, fishing, surfing,
swimming or jungle trekking.
We rented a
scooter for a week and used it everyday to go around the island and visit
all the beaches and to stock up with things from the market.
The waters
around Havelock
Island are pristine
and pretty unexplored. There are two dive-operators, Barefoot India at
beach no. 7 and Dive India
at beach no. 5. I did some nice dives with Dive ndia north of Havelock Island
around South Button Island.
The equipment was okay and the Indian PADI dive master had his shit
together and knew every dive-site inside-out.
Elephants are trained for logging at the Andaman
’mainland’
They had a good eye for Rie – she brought them loads of
bananas
My girlfriend
Rie enjoys the terrace in our two-storey eco-bungalow
at Emerald
Gecko… Cool!
Bonfire at
sunset
Small thatch
huts are the usual accommodation possibility
Getting back
from dive trip. Here in the small channel between John Lawrence
Island
and Henry Lawrence Island
which is lined with thickset mangrove forest
Next
time I’m on the Andaman Islands, I
will:
-
Spend some
more lazy days on tranquil Havelock
Island and bring a
slingshot and a huge bag of marbles to nuke some of the annoying wild dogs
which think they own the beaches
-
Try to haul a
ship to Little Andaman to challenge the supposedly magnificent surf breaks
and visit the Onge tribe (of course I’d have to bring my own
surfboard)
-
Take the bus
or overnight ferry from Port Blair to the northernmost village Diglipur and
dip into one of the more remote regions in this archipelago
-
Do some
diving and island hopping in Mahatma
Gandhi Marine
National Park
southwest of Port Blair
-
Be loaded
with money and rent a boat going to the extremely remote Barren Island,
the only active volcano in India
-
Visit Neil
and Long Island, two of the other
accessible and habitable islands in Ritchie’s Archipelago
-
Take an
eco-canoeing trip through the mangroves at Mayabunder
-
Spend some
more time in Port Blair to soak up the cultural English past and visit
Cellular Jail
-
Try to bribe
the administration in Port Blair to let me board a ship to the Nicobar Islands, and then enjoy being one of the
first non-Indians in the world who visits this corner of our planet
///// home – travels
– india
– andamans /////
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