ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS a whollyunexpected islandallure toIndia. waves oncomingEden,you’llknowyou’ve anddolphinsshimmerinfrontofthenext found to explore. bebyferry. Whenyoudo choosetowander,itwilllikely Whenthesaltcuts and theirlaid-backdescendants. and-purple sunsets,allpopulated byafriendlymasalaofSouthandSoutheastAsian settlers inhabitants stillliterally live intheStoneAge. Snow-white beachesmeltingunderflame- meval junglecutbymuddyrivers thatrunpastvillagesasoldIndiaitself,where some here?what’s theattraction That depressing perfect. wiped outanddisplaced,they’dbepractically addendumaside, tropical bliss. Ifitweren’t forthetragic their indigenouspopulationshave fact largely been Good Thing anddidn’twanttoshare itwiththerest ofus. that someonelabelled,withashakyhand,‘Here beMonsters’. a tempest-lashed The BlackWaters. seaknowntoIndiansasKalapani: These were theislands depicted withdogheadsorfacesintheirchests,surroundedbyseaserpentscoiledaround On oldmaps,the Andamans and ofislandswhoseinhabitantswereNicobars were thekind Islands Andaman &Nicobar 1120 © LonelyPlanetPublications Unfortunately theNicobarsareUnfortunately offlimitstotourists,butthatstillleaves hundreds ofislands streaked withsilverBlue, blue,blueandblue:oceansskies, sheetsofflyingfish.Pri- Because theAndamanandNicobarIslandsare, unambiguouslyandwithouthyperbole, thosemapswereLikely, drawnbyanearlytraveller whorealised theyhadfoundaVery

„ „ „ „ „ HIGHLIGHTS

Find ButlerBay;callGod;saythanksfor Take aroadtripthroughthejungleheart Interact withasmalltownyetmulticultural andsocialiseon Snorkel Regress toinfantilelaziness andhappiness paradise on Diglipur of theAndamansaround cast ofIndiansin on ( p1133) Neil Island (p1135) Little Andaman (p1134) Port Havelock Island (p1127) (p1137) and

Little Andaman Port Blair Mayabunder Havelock Island Diglipur & Nicobar Neil Island ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS 1121 Following Independence in 1947, the Following Independence in 1947, the the 2004 Indian of the aftershocks of Many None of the above was exactly tourism was exactly tourism above the None of Even the name ‘Andaman’ is thought the name to Even Ocean earthquake were concentrated off the off concentrated were Ocean earthquake doubly devas- were the islands, which coast of tsunami and vibrations tated by the resulting were The Nicobars from the actual quakes. a fifth of especially hard hit; some estimate the population was killed. Numerous citizens the tsunami, to Port Blair after relocated were islanders greeted the invading Japanese as as the invading Japanese greeted islanders installing but despite Indian politi- liberators, the Japanese cians as (puppet) administrators, occupiers to be far harsher military proved than the British. incorpo- were Islands Andaman and Nicobar into the Indian Union. Migration from rated their population the mainland has inflated than 350,000; thousand to more from a few Bengali these arrivals were many of refugees partition. During this of fleeing the chaos influx, tribal land rights and environmental and while disregarded, often were protection the indig- improving, some conditions are in decline. largely enous tribes remain that really doesn’t make geographic sense). geographic doesn’t that really make Buzurg adventurer The 10th-century Persian inhab- described an island chain Ibn Shahriyar Polo repeated by cannibals, a story Marco ited with the slight that the natives embellishment can- said,had dog heads. With that stories of been by Malay inflated nibalism may have to use as the archipelago who liked pirates, in Thanjavur raiding base. Tablets a secret archi- Nadu named the in Tamil (Tanjore) Islands. Impure The pelago Timaittivu: 17th century and in the late the Marathas the British, who used later, the 200 years Andamans as a penal colony for political dis- sidents. When WWII rolled around, some History History settlement initial human in the of The date is lost to history. and Nicobars Andamans have sayAnthropologists stone-tool crafters of and scholars for 2000 years, here lived believehuman migration local indigenous ethnic roots in Negrito and Malay tribes have Otherwise, these Asia. groups in Southeast been seaspecks in the a constant source have to outside visitors. legend of the Hindu monkey from ‘Hanuman’; derive god supposedly used the islands as a stepping stone between and Sri Lanka (although brochure stuff, but visitors kept coming: coming: stuff, kept but visitors brochure Island (65km) To Barren Island Island Henry Island Outram Smith Island Lawrence Island (90km) Ritchie's Sir Hugh East Island Ross Island To Narcondam (732m) Rose Island Archipelago Neil Island Diglipur John Lawrence (500km) Saddle Peak To Nicobar Ramnagar Bay Great Nicobar S E A Island Sound Islands (260km); Amkunj Cuthbert Long Island North Island Stewart Island Dharmapur Passage Santipur Pahlagaon 00 10 miles 20 km Shyamnagar A N D A M A N Island Tugapur Havelock Havelock Uttara Nabagram Island Peel Island Lakshmipur Phaiapong

Ross Island Bharatang Madhuban Viper Island Port Blair Ramkrishnagram Mt Harriet (365m)

(10km)

Mayabunder Port West Island Island Austen Coco Channel Rd

Cinque Reef Island Chiriya Tapu Kadamtala

To Hut Bay

Sippighat

Trunk Meadows North

And Island an am Rutland

Andaman Paget Island ISLANDS •• History & NICOBAR ANDAMAN White Cliff Island Island The Wandoor Island Anderson Middle Bamboo Flat Brothers Island North Reef The Sisters Andaman Wrightmyo Interview

Spike Island ὄ South Checkpoint Little Twins Islands Andaman Andaman Herbertahad of Island Reef Bay West Island Coral South Defence Island Red Skin Bengal of Jolly Buoy Bay Marine Gandhi Coral Reef Sandy Island Mahatma Middle Bengal To North Sentinel Island (10km) ANDAMAN ISLANDS ANDAMAN National Park Coral Reef

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