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Adventure In The Pristine Beauty Of Nature
There is no greater adventure than diving. Whether one is a novice, or
has been diving for years, there is always s
omething
new, fascinating or challenging about venturing into the underwater world.
Clouds of colourful fish will mesmerize one's mind; the mysterious remains
of sunken ships will raise one's curiosity or one's creativity will be
awakened by the art of underwater photography. One's diving interests may
range from a casual pastime pursued on vacation, to a constant passion, or
even a career. Diving offers something new for everyone.
Diving in Andamans is a unique lifetime experience. The coastal water
surrounding these islands is the abode of one of the richest coral reef
ecosystem is the world. The speciality is that, here the coral reefs and
underwater formations are undamaged by human activity. The best season for
diving is from December to April.
Mysteries Of The Marine World
Many of the islands are surrounded by fringing reefs, often several
hundred metres wide and separated from the shore by a lagoon of similar
width. There are also more steeply sloping reef walls, and coral pinnacles
or knolls. Divers can follow around steeply undulating hills of raven
volcanic lava, which makes for some unusual diving. There are plenty of
steeply sloping and shallow reefs suitable for snorkeling.
Large Pelagics are plentiful in these waters, as are a variety of sharks.
Large schools of hammerhead often patrol the waters away from the reefs
and Grey, Whitetip, Nurse and Leopard Sharks are found closer inshore.
Silvertip and Ocean Whitetips also sometimes appear out of the deep blue
beyond. Enormous manta Rays are also often seen.
Few Dive Sites Near To South Andaman Island/Port Blair: -
CINQUE ISLAND
One of the best dive destinations in the island, it has clear emerald
water with a visibility of upto 80 feet. The deep dive offers a terrific
variety of marine life, including Black Coral, sightings of Sharks and is
ideal for the experienced diver. more...
North Point: This site at Cinque
Island is mostly highlighted by sponges and small corals and offers
good diving because of the abundance and diversity of fish life.
Southeast Reef at Cinque Island
is a good site for novices. The southeast part of the reef consists of
hard and soft corals and these are very dense on the rocks down to about
16m (53ft.).
FISH ROCK
Fish
Rock near Passage Island offers an extremely colourful dive. The
topography consists of rocky slopes, boulders and drop offs, featuring
large fan of corals and plenty of sponges. Below 25m, the rocks are
covered in small bushy soft corals in numerous hues. Hard corals are not
so evident. Grey and Whitetip Reef Sharks are almost always in the
vicinity as are Nurse Sharks. Among the rest of the marine life are Eagle
Rays. Potato Cod, Large Coral Groupers, Fusiliers, Sweetlips, Turtles,
Batfish, Bumphead, Parrotfish, Squirelfish, Curious and friendly Oriental
Sweetlips, Surgeonfish, Yellow Tangs, Triggerfish, Tuna, Rainbow Runners
and many species of Trevally.
BALA REEF
Spreads over 4-5-sq-km and is said to be one of the best sites in the
Andamans for coral with vibrant colours.
CORRUPTION ROCK
Corruption Rock sticks out between Chidiyatapu and Rutland Island. The
dive site is on the western side of the rock and is made up of big
underwater boulders. The corals are not brilliant but the craggy undersea
landscape of boulders is stunning.
A fantastic wonderland of gullies, channels, ridges and canyons. Look out
for Giant Napoleons and Eagle Rays, Huge Snappers, Schooling Fusiliers,
Banner and Unicorn Fish. Dolphins, Tuna and Reef Sharks have also been
sighted here.
RUTLAND ISLAND
The shallow waters near to the island have a good representation of
smaller fish and coral, and a good place for training open water divers.
There is a shipwreck site alsopresent over here.
SNAKE ISLAND OFF
CORBYN'S CAVE
BEACH
This site offers awesome rock faces and spectacular dive landscape.
Marine life includes Trigger Fish Grunts, Goatfish and Rays. more...
HAVELOCK ISLAND
This is located approximately 50-km from Port Blair by inter-island
ferry. There is a wide range of largely unexplored dive sites rich in
underwater marine life. more...
Dive Sites Near To The Havelock Island
Mac Point: Mostly hardcorales and their inhabitants are found in
Mac Point. Usually in good visibility, Dugangs have been spotted over
here.
Aquarium: Aquarium is a fringing reef with lots of 'fish
traffic'. Usually in good visibility, mostly hardcorales are found over
here.
Barracuda City: Tons of fish, sometimes turtles, mostly hard and
some soft corals. Rather suitable for experienced divers.
Turtle Bay: Turtle Bay is an easy pleasant dive site not exceeding
14m. Rays are found in the sand over here and with Luck Turtles.
Seduction Point: A huge rock with different kind of aquatic life.
Napoleons can be seen over here in large numbers. The shallow part is full
with Staghorn Corals and its inhabitants.
Lighthouse: Lighthouse is a huge dive site, suitable for any kind
of dives. Huge variety of soft and hard corals make this place perfect for
night dives.
The Wall: The Wall is a huge submerged rock, which drops down to a
maximum of 55m and is full with life. Huge forests of Soft Corals plus
schools of Fish circling one, makes it always a memorable dive.
Pilot Reef: Pilot Reef near to Havelock is a huge block of
prestine Hard Corals. At the bottom (maximum 24m) 'Canyons' are stretching
out. Leopard and White Tip Sharks have been sighted over here.
Minerva Ledge: Minerva Hedge at Havelock is even bigger block of
Hard Corals. Tons of fish, usually good visibility and the possibility of
seeing sharks makes it one of the top dive sites.
CAMPBELL SHOAL OFF NORTH BUTTON ISLAND.
The bottom of this site is covered in mainly Hard Corals, with sporadic
sandy patches and hosts a multitude of reef animals. The marine life
includes Whitetip Reef Sharks, Large Cod and Groupers, Coral Trout, Blue
and Golden Banded Fusiliers, Giant Trevally and a host of colourful Reef
Fish.
MAHATMA
GANDHI MARINE NATIONAL PARK, WANDOOR
Hundreds of colourful varieties of coral reef fishes can be seen in the
park. Some of these are Clownfish, Butterfly Fish, Surgeon Fish, Anglel
Fish, Parrot Fish, Bat Fish and Groupers. Whitetip Shark, Hammer Headed
Shark, Manta Ray and Blue Fin Jack are also occasionally seen. More than
50 types of Corals are found in the fringing type of Coral Reefs in the
park. Some important Coral varieties found here are Acropora, Pocillopora,
Montipora, Leptoseris, Fungia, Portis, Tubipora and Gorgonians. more...
TIPS FOR DIVE TOURISTS:
Best season for Diving - December to April.
Dive only in the areas opened/permitted for Scuba Diving by the A & N
Administration. Do not dive with unqualified/unregistered dive operator
for the same may be dangerous to your life. Avail the service of Scuba
Dive instructors having certification of international professional
organizations like PADE, CMAS, NAUI, BSAC or SSI for safe diving
experience.
Details about approved Scuba Dive centres, list of areas/sites permitted
by the administration for Scuba Diving and the terms and conditions for
operating Scuba Dive can be obtained from the centre in Andamans.
The Recompression chamber facility is available at Clearance Diving Unit,
Navy, Port Blair.
Do not stand or walk on the Coral Reefs. Do not break the live Coral or
collect Dead Corals.
Do not enter the National Parks without permission.
Person who commits breach of any of the conditions of the wildlife protections shall be punishable as per law.
