India Travel

Details of Kalighat in North Andaman

Related Properties from Gurgaon

Moving on from Mayabunder in The andaman Islands

Until the last strelch of the Andaman Trunk Road and a bridge across the narrow strait to North Andaman Island just west of Mayabunder are completed in 2002, the shortest crossing is the ferry ride to Kalighat (2 daily; 3hr). The first departure of the day leaves at 9.30am, on a boat that's hopelessly small and cramped, so come prepared for hours of relentless sun (or torrential rain in the monsoons). That said, the journey is very memorable, especially towards its latter stages when the mangrove-lined sides of the creek close in as you approach Kalighat. The other boat leaves

Inter-island services in The Andaman Islands

Buses connect Port Blair with most major settlements on South and Middle Andaman, mainly via the Andaman Trunk Road. From the crowded, disorganized bus stand at the bottom of town, one daily government service at 5am runs via Rangat (6hr) as far as Mayabunder (9hr), from where you have to catch a boat across the straits to Kalighat on North Andaman in order to press on north to Diglipur and Ariel Bay. There's another daily service to Rangat at 6am. Several private companies including Geetanjali Travels (tickets at Tillie teashop by the bus stand) and the cheaper Ananda run deluxe

Kalighat paintings of Calcutta

Early in the nineteenth century, Kalighat was in its heyday, drawing pilgrims, merchants and artisans from all over the country. Among them were the scroll painters from elsewhere in Bengal, who developed the distinctive style now known as Kalighat pats (paintings). Adapting Western techniques, they used paper and water-based paints instead of tempera, and gradually moved away from religious themes to depict contemporary subjects. By 1850, Kalighat pats had taken on a dynamic new direction, satirizing the middle classes in much the same way as today's political cartoons. As a result, their work serves as a witty record of the

Details of Other islands

The remaining islands open to foreign tourists in the Andaman group are ail hard to get to and, with the exception of Little Andaman - where a vestigial population of Onge tribespeople have survived a massive influx of Indian Tamils and native Nicobars - uninhabited. Two hours' boat ride south of Chiriya Tapu on South Andaman, Cinque Island offers superlative diving, outshone only by distant Barren Island, whose volcanic sand beds teem with marine life.

Travel details of the Andaman Islands

Flights Port Blair to: Calcutta (5 weekly; 2hr); Chennai (1-2 daily; 2hr). Boats Arial Bay to: Port Blair (2 weekly; 12—14hr); Smith Island (1-2 daily; 30min). Havetock to: Long Island (2 weekly; 2-3hr); Neill Island (4 weekly: 1hr-1hr 30min; Port Blair (6 weekly; 4-6hr); Rangat Bay (4 weekly; 4—5hr). Mayabunder to: Kaligtiat (2 daily; 2tir 30min-3hr) Port Blair to: Anal Bay (2 weekly; 12-14hr); Calcutta (1 every 2 weeks; 60hr); Chennai (1 weekly; 60hr); Havelock Island (6 weekly; 4-6hr); Little Andaman (2 weekly; 9-1 Ohr): Long Island (2 weekly; 7hr 30min-9hr); Neill Island (4 weekly; 3-4hr); Rangat Bay (4 weekly; 8-1 Ohr); Vishakapatnam (1

State tourist offices in Calcutta

The most useful of the many tourist offices representing other states in Calcutta are those that cover trie northeastern states, and issue whichever permits may be necessary (details of permit requirements can be found on p.1043), and that of the Andaman and Nicobar islands. Andaman and Nicobar, 3A Auckland Place; Arunachal Pradesh, 41B Chowringhee Place; Assam, 8 Russell St; Manipur, 26 Rowland Rd; Meghalaya, 9 Russell St; Mizoram, 24 Old Ballygunge Rd; Nagaland, 11 Shakespeare Sarani; Orissa, 41 Lenin Sarani; Sikkim, 5/2 Russell St;

Genarl Information of Middle Andaman

For most travellers. Middle Andaman is a charmless rite of passage to be endured en route to or from the north. The sinuous Andaman Trunk Road, hemmed in by walls of towering forest, winds through miles of jungle, crossing the strait that separates the island from its neighbour, Baratang Island, by means of rusting flat-bottomed ferry. The island's frontier feeling is heightened by the presence on 'the buses of armed guards, and the knowledge that the impenetrable forests west of the ATR are the Jarawa Tribal Reserve. Of its two main settlements, the more northerly Mayabunder is slightly more appealing

Around Port Blair in The Andaman Islands

At some point, you're almost certain to find yourself killing time in Port Blair, waiting for boats to show up or tickets to go on sale. Rather than wasting days in town, it's worth exploring the coast of South Andaman which, although far more densely populated than other islands in the archipelago, holds a handful of easily accessible beauty spots and historic sites. Among the latter, the ruined colonial monuments on Viper and Ross islands can be reached on daily harbour cruises or regular ferries from the capital. For beaches, head southeast to Corbyn's Cove, or cross South Andaman to

South Andaman: Port Blair and around

South Andaman is today the most heavily populated of the Andaman Islands - particularly around the capital, Port Blair - thanks in part to the drastic thinning of tree cover to make way for settlement. Foreign tourists can only visit its southern and east central reaches - including the beaches at Corbyn's Cove and Chiriya Tapu, the fine reefs on the western shores at Wandoor, 35km southwest of Port Blair and the environs of Madhuban and Mount Harriet on the east coast across the bay from the capital. With your own transport it's easy to find your way along the narrow

Getting to the Andaman Islands

Port Blair, on South Andaman, is served by Indian Airlines flights from Calcutta (daily except Wed & Fri) and Chennai (Mon, Wed, Fri & Sun); Jet I Airways now runs a daily flight from Chennai, which means that availability is a lot easier than it used to be on that sector. Tickets for the two-hour flights remain expensive though, at around 5200 one way, unless you qualify' for a discount. It's also possible to get to Port Blair by ship. Services to and from Chennai have stabilized and can now be reasonably relied upon to leave in each direction every Friday.

Barren Island in North Andaman

The most intriguing island open to tourists in the Andaman group has to be Barren Island, twenty hours' sea voyage east of Port Blair. India's only active volcano, the arid brown mountain blew its top in May 1991 after lying dormant for 188 years, and has done so on two occasions since in 1994 and 1995. The only living creatures on Cinque are a herd of goats, released in 1891 by the British to provide sustenance for any shipwrecked sailors. There are no ferries to the island, but diving expeditions regularly make the trip as the seas around Barren are

North Andaman

Shrouded in dense jungle, North Andaman is the least populated of the region's large islands, crossed by a single road linking its scattered Bengali settlements. Timber extraction is proceeding apace here, despite a promise by the Island Development Authority to phase out logging by the year 2000, but the total absence of motorable roads into northern and western areas has ensured blanket protection for a vast stretch of convoluted coastline, running from Austin Strait in the southeast to the northern tip. Cape Price. Even if it were physically possible to reach this region, you wouldn't be allowed to, but it's

Kalighat in Calcutta

Calcutta's most important temple, Kalighat, 5km south of Park Street along Ashutosh Mukherjee Road, an extension of Chowringhee Road, stands at the heart of a congested and animated area. This plain but typically Bengali tem¬ple, built of brick and mortar in 1809 but capturing the sweeping curves of a thatched roof, is dedicated to Kali, the black goddess and form of Shakti. According to legend, Shiva went into a frenzy after the death of his wife Sati, dancing with her dead body and making the whole world tremble. The gods had attempted to stop him in various ways before Vishnu

Long Island in the Southeast of Middle Andaman

Just off the southeast coast of Middle Andaman, Long Island is dominated by an unsightly plywood mill, but don't let this put you off. Served by only two boats per week from the capital (usually Wed & Sat), and two daily lumber launches from Rangat, it sees far fewer visitors than either Neill or Havelock, but boasts a couple of excellent beaches, at Marg Bay and Lalaji Bay, both of which are most easily reached by chartering a fisherman's dinghy from the jetty. The latter beach is earmarked as the site of a new private tented accommodation enterprise, which should

Musical instruments of Calcutta

Calcutta is renowned for its sitar and sarod makers - expect to pay upwards of Rs5000 for a decent instrument. Shops around Sudder Street are strongest on Western instruments but their traditional instruments are invariably of inferior quality and may be beyond tuning; Rabindra Sarani (Chitpore Road) has several shops but quality is suspect. Calcutta must produce more tabla players than any other Indian city, with Anindo Chatterjee being the most highly acclaimed at present; tabla-makers can be found at Kalighat, next to Kalighat Bridge and at Keshab Sen Street off College Street. Hemen Roy & Sons. Rashbehari Avenue. Triangular Park.

Little Andaman is the furthest point south in the archipelago

Little Andaman is the furthest point south in the archipelago you can travel to on a standard one-month tourist permit. Located ten hours by sea from Port Blair, most of the island has been set aside as a tribal reserve for the Onge and is thus off limits. The only areas you're allowed to visit lie on either side of the main settlement, Hut Bay, which sits halfway down the east coast. The northern part of this stretch has been mercilessly clear-felled, leaving a stark wasteland flanking the main road to the largest beach at Butler Bay, 16km from Hut

Practicalities of Boats leave Port Blair for Little Andaman

Boats leave Port Blair for Little Andaman around twice a week; the service to aim for is the one that continues south to Car Nicobar, capital of the Nicobar Islands, as the ferry is larger and marginally more comfortable. Both arrive at the main jetty (specially enlarged for the full-on logging operation still under way here), a 3km plod from the bazaar, where you'll find the island's only established accommodation. Before leaving Port Blair, it's worth making a reservation at head office for the APWD Rest House 1km north of the shops behind the hospital, which has clean and spacious

Details of The Andaman Islands

The ANDAMAN ISLANDS, comprising India's most remote state, are situated 1000km off the east coast in the middle of the Bay of Bengal, connected to the mainland by flights and ferries from Calcutta, Chennai and Vishakapatnam. Thickly covered by deep green tropical forest, the archipelago supports a profusion of wildlife, including some extremely rare species of bird, but the principal attraction for tourists lies offshore, around the pristine reefs ringing most of the islands. Filled with colourful fish and kaleidoscopic corals, the crystal-clear waters of the Andaman Sea feature some of the world's richest and least spoilt marine reserves —

Mayabunder of Middle Andaman

About two hours further north by road, perched on a long promontory right at the top of the island and surrounded by mangrove swamps, is MAYABUN-DER; springboard for the remote northern Andaman Islands. The village, which is home to a large minority of former Burmese Karen tribal people who were originally brought here as cheap logging labour by the British, is more spread out and more appealing than Rangat, but again there is little to hold your interest for long. At the brow of the hill, before it descends to the jetty, a small hexagonal wooden structure houses the Forest

Havelock in The Andaman Islands

Havelock is the largest island in Ritchie's Archipelago, and the most intensively cultivated, settled like many in the region by Bengali refugees after Partition. Thanks to its regular ferry connection with the capital, it is also visited in greater numbers than anywhere else in the Andamans. In peak season, as many as three hundred tourists may be holed up here, and at such times Havelock's much-photographed Radhnagar beach, often touted as the most beautiful in India, can feel overwhelmed. Party- lovers from Goa have also turned up over the past few winters, complete with rave gear and full-on sound systems,