North Andanam Island

The North Andaman Island which is in the northern direction of Andaman group of islands has Diglipur as the main town and is famous for marine habitation.  Rice and Orange are the main crops of the island.  Frequent earthquakes keep threatening the inhabitants and the highest point in the place happens to be at 738 metres which is Saddle Peak.  The Tsunami has also created a great threat to the locals and their life is shaken due to these mishaps.

The other important events related to the island include, the magistrate who played in Gregory’s drama, had worked in this island.  The main personality of the Six Suspects book penned by Vikas Swarup hails from this island only.  The famous films viz Kaalapani and Sira chaalai (Malayalam and Tamil) display the freedom fight related to the prisoners of the Port Blair jail.  The famous story Island’s End of Padma Venkatraman relates to this place.

Things to Do

It is exciting to have a walk from Kalipur to Saddle Peak, the highest mountain in the Andamans which moves to the southern direction in the jungle areas.  A climb say for 3 to 4 hours is indeed interesting, which requires prior permission from the authorities, which can be taken up with a guide.  A visit to Limestone Cavers, which is at about 12 kms in the southern part adjacent to Ramangar Beach, is laudable. Dhani Nala Beach and Pristine Beach Resort are the other places to visit nearby.

How to Reach

Veer Savarkar International Airport in Port Blair is the one available for travel and one can take flights to Kolkata and Chennai, and Delhi, Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar.  Indian Navy controls this airport and flights are available only during day time.  Eastern short near Diglipur has a little type of airstrip which is of 100meters. Air travel is of course expensive which depends on the seasons.