Holiday at Andamans Oct25

October as SW monsoon withdraws and before NE sets seemed a good time to visit Andamans. Set off with usual travel buddies Silambu and Bhavani. Used our neighboring travel agency Kumar Travels for booking. 

17oct25 : A smooth mid morning Indigo flight took us to Sri Vijayapuram airport Port Blair. Beautiful view from the top. Airport is nicely laid out. Excellent lighting with transparent roofing at intervals for natural illumination. At the exit was good to see a statue of Veer Savarkar with a nice tri-colour Indian flag beside it. 

Our host received us and we set off. A two lane roadway through a crowded market place took us to our simple and neat hotel Zone Connect.

Very soon we drove to Corbin's Cove Beach it's shoreline lined with coconut palm trees. 

We took a half hour speed boat ride around and paused near two small islands - Snake Island and Rock Island. Though enjoyable 5000 rupees charged is a jib. 

The next stop was the infamous Cellular Jail.

Built by the Brits who brutally held freedom fighters in inhuman conditions. A good guide walked us around with Hindi commentary. Was moved to see the spots and cells. A poignant place was the triple execution chamber with 3 hanging ropes. The cell of Savarkarji in 2nd floor was prominent.  

The jail's plan resembles a star fish. 7 branches consisting of 13' by 7' cells spread out of a central tower. Capacity to house 693 inmates. Built with high security to ensure no escape. All ends are sealed, each cell has a lock and opened to let out inmates during fixed hours for labour, food and toilet. Any intermediate need for toilet is through a pot inside the cell. What an ordeal!

In the evening was a good Light and Sound show of the brief history of the place. The atrocity of the Brits especially the jailor David Berry was terrible to see. Left us feeling maudlin. Veer Savarkar is prominently featured here in fact through Andamans. 

The Param veer chakra awardees from our army are honoured by assigning their names to  islands. Pics of this are displayed in the airport and the entrance of cellular jail. 

Andamans is in the military cantonment category. Could surely feel a high degree of patriotic surge seeing our Indian flag fluttering at several places.

18 Oct 25: Starting early we drove to the harbour for the ferry to Swaraj Deep or Havelock island. Drive to this route was nice. Roads well maintained and area clean. There's a naval installation before the main port. After a light breakfast we boarded the ferry run by Nautika a pvt company. 

Was very comfortable. We cruised through the sea enjoying the views of the islands all along. 

Greenery was a sight for our sore eyes. Landing at Havelock we took a bit of time to get our checked in bags. Better to travel very light. The area around was scenic.

Reached Ocean Crest resort a good looking one with a small private beach. The beautiful beach with palm trees & mangroves, fine white sand and crystal clear water peaceful.

 Read a book sitting under a tree for sometime then waded in shallow water and relaxed. 

After lunch we went to Radhanagar Beach. Arriving late afternoon it was hot and humid. We waited at a shady spot till it cooled down a bit. A nice clean beach with fine white sand. No pollution. No plastic and waste floating around. 

After surveying the place changed to swimming shorts and took a dip in the water until it got a bit wavy as tides set in. There are changing rooms, showers and toilets with a nominal entry fee. The sunset at this beach was good to view despite a cloud formation obstructing the view.

The beach closed at 5 pm. Life guards step in ensuring the area is cleared. 

19 Oct 25: Was a quite day. It rained in the morning hence couldn't go to the beach for sunrise. Travelled in the afternoon by ferry back to Port Blair. We had good dosas for lunch at a veg restaurant close to the harbour. Enjoyable and restful stay. Havelock is an excellent place to visit. 

Ferry on return was less crowded. Enjoyed spectacular views of the setting sun forming colourful patterns amongst the clouds. A diwali display in the sky. Reached our hotel, had early dinner and went to bed.

20 Oct 25 Deepavali: Woke up early and left by 4 am for the sojourn to Diglipur in North Andaman. An hour's drive took us to the outskirts of the Jarawah tribal reserve where we waited for permits. Ate the packed breakfast we had carried, sipped tea and strolled around the area. 

After a long stop of 2 hours followed the convoy of cars adjoining the tribal area and cruised through NH4 a rough winding road through the jungle. We couldn't spot any of the tribals. 

The next halt was Baratang where we boarded a ferry to cross the sea. Cars are also loaded on the ferry.

Bridge construction over the sea is ongoing. Reaching a jetty we took a speed boat to the Limestone Caves. 

A very enjoyable drive in light rain through the scenic environs of  mangroves, palm trees and other vegetation on the coastline. Later we learnt that casurina plants were planted along the shore after Tsunami. 

These grow fast but some locals consider this as invasive and impedes growth of native fauna. 

A long trek through a muddy path took us to the caves. 

The formation by the Limestone in these caves was unique. It is dark inside but our guide with a torch showed the points of interest. 

Took the speed boat back to jetty where our car was waiting. We drove to a spot to see one of the mud volcanoes. It was like a huge gas burner. The volcano was active the previous week. Would have been good to see it active. We could see some remnant activity of short intermittent bursts of watery mud emanating from it. Cakes of mud are deposited all around forming a circle. This area is fenced off. 

Then began the very long drive to distant Digilipur on the northern tip of Andamans. NH4 national highway could hardly be called that. It is in extremely bad condition, damaged by rains, full of potholes. Driving through this was like a roller coaster. A shame to call it highway it was a mud track. It took ages to reach Rangat a town midway where we stopped for tea. 

A portion of it is beside another tribal reserve area. We saw a group of them crossing and a man by himself carrying logs of wood. They looked like Africans - black complexion, curly hair and sharp eyes. 

Drive at Rangat along the coastal road was good. We stopped at a small rocky beach midway. It was around sunset and the area was beautiful. A short climb led to a wooden platform overlooking the lovely beach. Enjoyed the views. 

Finally after 3 hours reached Pristine Resort Digilipur. Was a very long tiring drive through NH4. Kudos to our driver who managed it skillfully and patiently. This visit is avoidable. Should return after Baratang unless the highway is repaired. That looks a remote possibility, as locals said many attempts were abandoned and alleged massive corruption. Sad. Took a well deserved rest after dinner.

21 Oct 25: The resort is old but nice. We later met the owner who said it's being renovated. Good food and green environment.

After a relaxed breakfast we drove to the jetty nearby and took a speed boat to Ross and Smith Island. An excellent spot. It was so soothing after enduring the drive. 

We relaxed there for 3 hours and took a dip in the crystal clear and clean water. Snorkeling had been cancelled. The picturesque beach with clean sand, posse of palm trees and other greenery in mild sunshine was wonderful. 

An excellent morning. Turtles nest in this island but we couldn't spot any. 

Relaxed after lunch in the resort. Took a walk in a black sand beach at the back of the resort and called it a day.

22 Oct 25: Again it was a long drive from Diglipur to Port Blair with a ferry at Baratang to cross the sea. With less stops in between and no long wait we managed to catch the 12 noon ferry and reached Port Blair by 3 pm. Had a high tea, sweets and chaat snacks at Dhoiwalla a good restaurant and returned to our hotel Zone Connect. Relaxed in the hotel reminiscing a good holiday.

23 Oct 25: After a good breakfast checked out.

Took the mid morning flight by Akasa Air back to Chennai. Was a pleasant flight. 

Andaman islands is a lovely place to visit and enjoy, indulge in water sports and relax in the beach. One of the many lovely places of our country. It has immense potential to  develop as a tourist hub.