The archipelago of Andaman & Nicobar comprises of 572 islands of which 37 are inhabited. Made up of two island groups, the Andaman Islands to the North and the Nicobar Islands to the South, these islands have a tropical rainforest canopy and are very rich in bio-diversity.
Over 2200 varieties of plants have been recorded across the islands out of which 200 are endemic (found nowhere else in the world) and 1300 of them do not occur in mainland India.
The Andaman & Nicobar islands are one of the 218 Endemic Bird Areas of the world as identified by Birdlife International. There are close to 270 species of birds found across the Andaman islands of which more than 30 species are endemic to the islands.
Also, every once in a while, some vagrants land up on one of the islands, like the Mandarin duck which was spotted in Little Andaman very recently. In short, birding in Andaman is a must do for any bird lover.
Add to that the lovely beaches, the serene landscape, the ship rides between islands, all make for a wonderful and a wholesome experience for any nature enthusiast.
There is a lot of historical significance associated with the Andaman & Nicobar islands as well. Many of these historical sites have been turned into amazing tourist destinations. The islands around the capital, that is Port Blair, namely the Ross island, Havelock Island, Neil Island and many others offer a lot of activities for the regular tourists.
And so on… There are a lot of activites to keep the tourists occupied.
Now, getting back to my post 😃
Here, I will be primarily focusing on the amazing bio-diversity and the natural wonders that Andamans has to offer.
Before I begin, use this opportunity to share my gratitude and appreciation to my good friend and guide, Vikram Shill, for all his support.
Here goes my attempt at giving you a glimpse into the Andamans.
Port Blair, the capital city of Andaman & Nicobar, has many birding hotspots. One among them is Chidiya tapu. True to its name, which translates to ‘Bird Island’, this place is a haven for birds. The Bilogical park at Chidiya tapu is a great place for birding.
Chidiya tapu is also favoured by a lot of tourists as a sunset destination, offering amazing views of the sunset over a beautiful lake.
Spending a couple of days around Port Blair can yield you a good number of species, many endemics included.
Birding doesn’t end with sundown. That is the time to catch the nocturnal species, the nightjars and the owls before they get on with their daily (or should I say nightly) chores.
After a good time at Port Blair, the next destination would be the beautiful island of Little Andaman.
Little Andaman is an 8-10 hr travel by ship from Port Blair and is totally worth the time. Hutbay, the capital of Little Andaman is the port of entry to the island. I just love going there for the true rustic experience that I get. A laid back place with little or no crowd whatsoever, great beaches and lovely birding trails too.
The birding trails run through pristine rainforests interspersed with thick mangroves along the beautiful, white-sandy beaches - sheer bliss to say the least. Thick undergrowth and high canopies do make for challenging and limited photographic opportunties, however the experience is highly memorable.
Sometimes rarities too give amazing image making opportunties…
And at other times, vagrants (birds which are not regular to the place or are very, very rarely recorded from the place) show up in Little Andaman. I got lucky one time when I got to see this beautiful bird which had landed up in Little Andaman.
Breaking away from birding, there is always time to enjoy the magical beauty of the landscapes, crafted by the changing tides.
The trails also reveal a lot of interesting creatures apart from birds.
Little Andaman is so blissfully silent and pollution free with inky-black skies at night that one would be amiss to not enjoy the view of the amazing star-studded night skies and also give a shot at some night-sky photography.
A short timelapse..
Sitting by the beach and endeavouring in night-sky photography is not always uneventful. Curious creatures came around to perhaps have a look at what we were sitting and doing in complete darkness.
Hermit crab ….
Then, came the Yellow-lipped sea krait, OMG!, was our reaction and we had to thank our stars. This is perhaps one of the most venomous of snakes in the world.
The ship ride from Port Blair to Little Andaman and back, is a wonderful experience too. Along the journey, one can encounter the Bottle-nosed dolphins. Sometimes a pod of these dolphins could come swimming up close to the ship.
We also get to see plenty of those amazing flying fish, which, so skilfully skim over the water’s surface in multiple hops before disappearing into the depths.
The islands of Andaman & Nicobar is a treasure trove for a nature lover and should be high on the list of places to visit. Plan your next trip there 😃
Hope you enjoyed the post. See you on the next one.
1 comment
Capt Praveen Chopra