pl. don't miss baratnag island.

haringp

most tourists associate andamans tour with havelock and redskin/jollybouy trip.
One must undertake one day tour of the Baratang island from port blair .
For reaching Baratang one has to start early morning 3:30 AM(port blair) bus journey of approx 4 hours, cross the jaravas and 3 boat rides.
perhaps duration of travelling puts the tourist off.
but the visit is definately worth it.
one can see the pygmy like jarwa tribes in jungle.
Lime stone caves(stalgchites) with beautiful formations in shape of ganesha, elephant, inverted lotus etc.
There is beautiful strech of mangroves as well.

Finaly we are shown the active mud valcano.
this trip is refreshingly diffrent from montonous trips to beaches and sea water.

OrangeStreet

Thanks for the info hari.. Planning a honeymoon in andamans this Dec and this piece of info really helps..

Do you have any pics to upload?

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martinez

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There is beautiful strech of mangroves as well.

Is`nt this the place where those huge salt water crocodiles live?
I have heard that they are very vicious and are not to be trusted,even for one minute

martinez

i also heard that only the small Jawaras remain because the crocodiles ate all the big ones. I do not like hungry crocodiles.

Amalfi

If you find beaches and sea water monotonous , why on earth would you go to the andamans for a holiday !!! Also, I think it is extremely insensitive and horribly voyeuristic to go intruding in on the Jarawa reserve, one of the rare primitive tribes still existing in this world , just for fun and siteseeing. I have heard that the poor Jarawas have been bribed with food packets ,biscuits and bottled water to crowd around the buses to put up a show for the tourists. I can't imagine human beings treating fellow humans as animals in a game reserve or zoo.

Go to the Anthropoligical Museum in Port Blair , if you want to know about the Jarawas. Please leave the few hundreds alive in peace.

martinez

Well said Amalfi!!!! The Jawaras should be left completely alone or they will perish as a tribal people.Anyone wishing to go to Baratang or infact anywhere to the North should use the boat services and therefor reduce impact on the Jawara peoples..
To boast of having seen Jawaras is a very sad affair indeed and is a reflection of the ignorance regarding their situation,plight and eventual extermination.

shahronakm

I have been to Baratang during my Feb 07 trip. During the trip there is no intrusion in Jarawas life. It's just that the road leading to Baratang passes through reserve & if you are lucky you can have a glimpse of Jarawas. You are not allowed to get down from the bus nor allowed to take photographs of Jarawas. Also you are not allowed to give any thing or food stuffs to Jarawas. Still if boats can be used as an alternate to reach the place that will be a good option.

Ronak.

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martinez

Hi Shahronakm,how are you?
Take a look at www.survival-international.org/tribes/jawara for a more informed insite as to how the road is the principle threat to the Jawara people. You see it is not just the tourists on the buses.A friend of mine in 2007 did that trip and met a Jawara boy at a chai stop ,that boy could potentialy wiped out the whole of his tribe had he caught a contagios illness and returned to his people..The Indian high court resisted pressure from forign countries to close the road for the benefit of the Jawara,and i am sorry to say that it is only a question of time until they are no longer a peoples but a sad victim of our ignorance. The boat trip alternatives existed before the trunk road through their homeland was built,and the boats ply the same routes today, so there is absolutely no reason to pass through the Jawara reserve. SO PLEASE if you want to travel north in the Andamans TAKE THE BOAT