Lakshadweep
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Move over Maldives, Lakshadweep Islands have arrived!
The quirky twist of a British colonial pen has left, Lakshadweep, an island chain located just north of Maldives, a part of India. Culturally and geographically, Lakshadweep is closer to Maldives. But, the similarity ends there. In sharp contrast to Maldives’ global image of a developed, expensive, rich tourists’ playground, Lakshadweep is largely pristine, little explored and, now, getting ready for its moment in the sunshine.
If you love calm seas, crystal clear water and rich marine life, you should consider visiting the Lakshadweep islands, off the west coast of India. A group of islands isolated from the fast pace of life where you can go back to nature, unwind and energize. The long beaches and crystal clear lagoons, brimming with marine life, offer you a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You can swim till you tire, relax in a hammock with your favorite book, take a walk on moonlit nights, observed by a turtle digging its nest or just hearing the music of the waves. But what makes Lakshadweep special is the underwater life, ship wrecks and scuba diving.
Would you ever wonder about floating in a three dimensional space weightless surrounded by colorful and amazing creatures, if not experience it in wall of wonder or Japanese garden. Have you ever visited a valley with lots of flowers in vivid colors where a manta swims on top and a grouper below, Have you ever been in a seabird colony or sea turtle junction. Welcome to Lakshadweep.
Location and area
The tiniest Union Territory of India, Lakshadweep is an archipelago of 12 atolls, 3 reefs and 5 submerged banks. It is located between 8 º and 12 º 13” north latitude and between 71º and 74º east longitude, 220 to 440 kilometers away from the coastal city of Kochi in Kerala state of India, in the Arabian Sea. It has 4,200 square kilometers of lagoon area, 20,000 square kilometers of territorial waters and about 400,000 square kilometers of economic zones. All islands are located 4 to 7 meters above the mean sea level. It is a uni-district Union Territory with an area of 32 square kilometers comprising11 inhabited Islands, 16 uninhabited islands with attached islets, and 5 submerged reefs. The inhabited islands are Kavaratti, Amini, Agatti, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat, Andrott, Kalpeni, Minicoy, Bangaram, and Bitra.
How to get there
Lakshadweep is well connected with mainland India. If you like to enjoy the breeze of the sea and dancing dolphins on the way you can get in a ship from Cochin. If you love to sail in a huge ship get a seat in MV Kavaratti. For a closer view of the Arabian Sea, opt for small ships like MV Aminidivi or MV Minicoy. If you would like to have a experience in the only High Speed craft in the country, grab a seat in HSC Parali, Cheriyapani or Valiyapani. If you like a bird’s eye view and eager to start the fun you can opt for flights operated by Kingfisher or Indian. Flights to Lakshadweep are available from Bengaluru, Chennai and Kochi.
The restrictions????
Being small and also to protect the local culture the entry to Lakshadweep is regulated by an entry permit, which can be obtained from the Lakshadweep office at Kochi after submitting an application along with required documents. If you are travelling with a resort or tour operator they will take of the paper work and you can travel hassle free. The islands follow a “High value low volume” tourism policy. Bangaram, Agatti and Kadmat is open for international and domestic tourists, while Kavaratti, Minicoy and Kalpeni is open for domestic tourists only.
Tourism is a developing industry compared to fishing in Lakshadweep and people have started investing in accommodation recently. All islands (Including Bangaram) have Bungalows operated by the administration and accommodation can be booked by contacting the local administration. The accommodation available with SPORTS in various islands is 184 Beds (Kavaratti 10, Bangram 60, Kadmat 60, Kalpeni 8, Minicoy 26, and Agatti 20)
The Agatti island resort has constructed an additional 10 sea facing rooms (20 Beds) and they have also made about 4 rooms converting area earlier used as front office and provisions store. So they are operating 48 beds. Bangaram island is not operational due to a pending court case. There are also some private resorts like Seashells operating in Agatti.
Private accommodation is available In Kavaratti, Agatti and Androth. The rooms are air-conditioned and close to the town, the tariff is in between 600 – 1000 INR. Local rooms are also available in the islands starting from 250 onwards. Most of the private accommodations does not offer food and you have to go out in search of hotels which offer food similar to average hotels in Kerala State of India. There are some private homes available in Agatti, but in our experience they don’t provide any value for money and don’t offer any privacy for the visitors.
History
The history says small settlements first emerged in the islands of Andrott, Amini, Kavaratti and Kalpeni, after which people from these islands moved to the other islands. The Buddha statues (made from local lime + sand) unearthed from islands points to the fact that Buddhism prevailed in the islands centuries ago. Later the islands converted to Islam. Britain took control of the islands during the nineteenth century as part of the Empire of India, and the islands remained under India’s control after independence. In 1956, all the islands were grouped together as the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
The only historic British lighthouse in the islands is at Minicoy. The island has great strategic importance, because the sea route from Suez to Singapore passes through the Eight Degree Channel just south of Minicoy. To protect the lifeline of the Empire, the British shipped bricks from England to build this great lighthouse in the tropics. Britain retained control of Minicoy after India became independent in 1947. The lighthouse was assigned to Indian control in April 1956 and the title was finally transferred to India in September 1963
Unlike other islands in the world where a reef fish industry exists, which virtually wipes the reef for live fish trade and aquarium fishery. Lakshadweep reefs are safe because of the offshore skipjack based fishing economy. The dive sites in Lakshadweep offers reefs beaming with marine life and you can encounter big groupers and snappers while you dive. The wildlife (Protection ) Act, 1972 also provides utmost protection for corals, sea turtles, sea cucumbers and most of the creatures. The dolphin hunting which was once prevalent now ceased, the results are visible with visiting dolphin pods near the dive boats and divers. The marine life in Lakshadweep reefs are mostly unexplored, the distant reefs of perumalpar, cheriyapani, Valiyapani, elikalpeni bank, Manchapar, investor bank and Bassediparo . Dive sites near suheli, Cheriyam and bitra islands. Ship wrecks at Minicoy, Bangaram, Kiltan all offers you a once in a life time experience.
Till now all the tourist operations are controlled by the administration either through SPORTS or by leasers (Bangaram By Casino and AIBER by Mr MullaKoya). Last 2 year onwards local administrations is going for private owned tourism, many of which are still pending to obtain various clearances by LCZMA and LPCC. Tourism Department also invited interested local entrepreneurs for setting up of dive centers in various islands, which is also pending under various government norms. The Bangram island operations, which is the success model in Lakshadweep tourism is also not operational because of a legal battle with the administration and the earlier leaser CGH Earth in Supreme Court. The Administration is planning to adopt the Bangaram model of development to start tourism in other uninhabited islands of Suheli, Thinnakara and cheriyam once the cloud settles. The tourism Department is also upgrading its facilities and increasing the bed capacity in the islands where already tourism is established and constructing cottages in the other islands like Andrott, Kiltan, Chetlat where there is no tourist facility exist at present.
