Tourism in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Tourism in Andaman and Nicobar Islands relates to tourism in union territory of India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Andamans is an archipelago of over 570 tropical islands, of which only 36 are inhabited.^[1]^[2] Radhanagar beach at Havelock was bestowed with the title of ‘Asia’s Best Beach’ in 2004 by the TIME magazine. It is also listed as world’s 7th most spectacular beach on Time magazine list.^[3]

Tourism industry

Tourism is a major industry in Andaman. Bulk of the revenue earned by the government of Andaman and Nicobar is through the tourism industry. In 2008 total 136,426 tourists visited Andaman and Nicobar. Growing sectors in tourism and potential area of investment are water sports and adventure tourism including trekking, island camping, snorkeling and scuba diving. Sea aquarium, water theme park, wave surfing, marina yacht, convention centre, health resorts, sanctuaries, national park, inter-island cruise liner.^[4]

Natural resource

Andaman and Nicobar has approximately 86 percent of forest area of its total land. The forests constitute an integral wing of the natural resource of Andaman and Nicobar and it houses 96 Sanctuaries and 9 National Parks.^[4]

The primary sanctuaries that form a part of the natural resources of Andaman and Nicobar islands are Narcondum Hornbill Sanctuary that procures a suitable abode for the exotic species of birds known as hornbills, Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park that houses an entire caboodle of aquatic creatures, Nicobar Pigeon Sanctuary, South Sentinel Island Sanctuary which houses humongous robber crabs and North Reef Sanctuary which is principally dedicated to the nurturing of a variety of water birds.^[4]

Major Attractions

Following are the major tourist attractions in Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Ross Island

Ross Island was the seat of British administration.

Viper Island

Viper Island is near Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, was the site of the jail where the British used to imprison convicts and political prisoners. It has the ruins of a gallows atop a hillock. The jail was abandoned when the Cellular Jail was constructed in 1906.

Radhanagar Beach

Radhanagar Beach is a beautiful pristine clean beach located on the western coast of Havelock Island. It was voted the best beach in Asia by TIME in 2004 ^[5] and is now one of the top 100 beaches in the world.^[6]

Cellular Jail

The Cellular Jail, also known as Kālā Pānī (Black Water), was a colonial prison. The prison was used by the British especially to exile political prisoners to the remote archipelago. Many notable dissidents such as Batukeshwar Dutt and Veer Savarkar, among others, were imprisoned here during the struggle for India's independence. Today, the complex serves as a national memorial monument.^[7]

Havelock Island

Havelock Island, with an area of 113.93 km2, is the largest of the islands that comprise Ritchie's Archipelago, a chain of islands to the east of Great Andaman in the Andaman Islands.^[8]