There’s
a range of things to do. Swim with the locals: turtles, dolphins, eagle ray and stay away
from the bad crowd: sharks, octopus, barracuda! (Don’t worry, the sharks are
completely harmless and octopus and barracuda too far from the shores – the waters
are completely safe). Snorkel in the reef through colonies of fish. Surf the aqua marine
waters, romp the white sands. Just go - must go!
Special Permits
for Lakshadweep: A trip to Lakshadweep requires a tourist permit from all. This
can be arranged at the Lakshadweep Tourist Office in Cochin (Kochi). The only way to visit
is to hook up with a package tour group. Tour operators start the first of the trips in
October and continue till May. The most popular months are from January to the middle of
May when the diving and fishing is good but it’s possible to visit any time in the
year.
Getting to
Lakshadweep: Travelling to Lakshadweep may seem like a daunting task because of
the list of dos and don’ts that precede a trip but believe us any hassles are more
than worth it.
By Air The usual
way to get to Lakshadweep is to fly from Cochin (Kochi) in Kerala to Agatti Island. The
airport takes Donears and helicopters, which allows only up to 10 kg baggage weight per
person.
By Sea The govt
tourist dept has the acronym SPORTS: Society for Promotion Of Recreational Tourism and
Sports. It operates cruises from Cochin to all the islands that are open to tourists. This
is strictly a package deal though, and is not really a ‘getting there’ solution,
plus it’s open to only Indian tourists.
Accommodation in
Lakshadweep: People usually stay at the resort island of Bangaram. There is no indigenous local population
so this is an out and out tourist facility. The hotel has cottages on the beach; a multi
cuisine restaurant with a bar, a library, scuba diving gear on hire, and tons of ambience.
Catamarans, kayaks and sailboats are free; grab and go!
Bangaram also has
rafting, snorkeling, and deep-sea diving and deep-sea fishing equipment and instructors.
Kadmat also has similar facilities and tourist movement is restricted to the tourist area.
The other inhabited
islands are Minicoy, Andrott, Amini, Kalpeni, Kiltan, Chetlat, Bitra and Kavaratti.
Minicoy is the largest and culturally closer to the Maldives than to India. Kavaratti is
the administrative capital, and the seat of the central govt’s representative
offices.
For
Country and Visitor information, see India. |
