South Andaman - district in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

South Andaman is a district of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Cities

• Port Blair 📍 — the laid-back headquarters of the district and the only entry and exit point. Spend a day or two here walking around and enjoying fresh seafood and seeing a couple of the nearby sites like Ross Island, Viper Island & Bambooflat Island leading to Mount Harriet.
• Wandoor 📍 — a relaxed destination, but known more as the gateway to the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park

Other destinations

Islands

In 2018, many islands were officially renamed. The new names have not been widely adopted, but are listed below in brackets.

• Cinque Islands 📍
• Havelock Island (Swaraj Dweep) 📍 — the most visited of the islands, with the most (although still limited) infrastructure. Famous for its beautiful beaches, especially Radhanagar, Elephant Beach and Kalapatthar, and great for snorkelling, scuba diving, jet skiing, parasailing, kayaking, etc.
• Jarwa Reserve 📍
• Jolly Buoy Island — a beautiful island where you can see underwater coral reefs, by snorkeling, or riding on glass-bottomed boats. This island requires prior permission to visit and does not have any food outlets, so pack your own food. Also, plastics are banned in this island. Typically 3-4 ferries from Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, leave daily morning around 9AM and return by 2-2:30PM. Private arrangements are also possible.
• Little Andaman 📍 — badly damaged from the 2004 tsunami, the island has recovered but is still among the less visited.
• Neil Island (Shaheed Dweep) 📍 — A small, beautiful island with amazing beaches like Bharatpur Beach, Laxmanpur Beach and Sitapur Beach and a natural bridge. Snorkelling, jet skiing, scuba diving, glass-bottom boat rides, etc.
• Ross Island (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island) 📍 — the former headquarters of the Indian Penal Settlement
• Rutland Island 📍 — beautiful mangrove forest and coral reefs welcome you to this little visited and pristine island

National parks

• Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park 📍 — a national park of India in Wandoor on the Andaman Islands

• Middle Button Island National Park 📍 — spotted deer can be found here

• Mount Harriet National Park 📍 (Mount Manipur National Park) — named after Harriet Tytler who did early work documenting the monuments of Delhi

• North Button Island National Park 📍 — home of the dugong, dolphin, water monitor and other animals

• Rani Jhansi Marine National Park 📍 — a national park known for its coral reefs and marine life

• South Button Island National Park 📍 — shallow water coral reefs popular for scuba diving

Understand

Get in

Get around

See

Do

Eat

Drink

Stay safe

Although most of South Andaman is open to tourists, it is still illegal to visit North Sentinel Island. A exclusion zone is enforced by the coast guard, in order to protect the indigenous Sentinelese tribe. These tribes have resisted becoming a part of the globally connected world for a long time. They maintain their sovereignty over the island and reject contact with the outside world. Do not approach the island as you pose a deadly risk to the islanders through disease. There is also a danger to your own life: the islanders kill people who attempt to visit the island.

Saltwater crocodiles are found throughout South Andaman, especially around Little Andaman Island (Northern and Western sides), Interview Island and in the narrow straits that separate the main islands MacPhearson Strait, Andaman Strait, Homfrey Strait and Austen Strait. While saltwater crocodiles generally remain within the rivers and coastal mangrove swamps, they do occasionally travel within the open ocean and attack people where most human encounters occur.

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