Lakshadweep Islands

Best destination for honeymoon, water sports

The pristine coral paradise of Lakshadeep with a tinge of bluish-green waters is an exotic archipelago in the Arabian Sea. It possesses everything required for a perfect honeymoon. Lakshadweep Islands lives up to the expectation as the best romantic destination in India.

Honeymooning in Lakshadweep will turn your fantasy into real-life experience. This sparsely inhabited land has extraordinarily beautiful ambience setting stage for an incredible romantic vacation. You can relax on the beaches of this wonder world amidst the sound of the roaring waves, the rustling sound of the swaying palm trees and the amazing marine life.

The most romantic place to stay at Lakshadweep would be the beach cottages. Your window will give you an amazing view of long stretch of white sand and Palm trees. You can step out for sunbathing or building sand castles. If you are adventurous, you can engage in snorkeling, diving, or maybe parasailing. Otherwise you can head off on a boat scrutinizing the natural lagoons, enchanting coral reefs and visiting the fantastic Bangaram and Agatti. An experience that is indescribable is a bird’s eye view of Lakshadweep Islands through the helicopter rides.

The adventurous sports, along with a wonderful combination of scenic splendor add a special dimension to the island. The matchless beauty of these emerald islands will certainly overwhelm each honeymoon couple. This solitude island will provide the newlyweds with ethereal moments of sheer wonder and bliss.

Exquisite coral islands, marine life in its pristine nature, beautiful natural lagoons, silvery beaches and delicious sea foods – you have it all here. Lakshadweep, literally means a hundred thousand (one lakh) islands (dweep), offers for the enthusiast travelers much sought physical and mental enjoyments and relaxation to spend their holidays.

Lakshadweep is the smallest union territory of India and consists of a group of islands in the Arabian Sea in 32 sq. km area spreading over more than with 77,700 sq km in the sea. The administrative capital of Lakshadweep is Kavaratti.

Lakshadweep territory encloses ten inhabited and 17 uninhabited islands, some attached islets, five submerged reefs and four newly formed islets. The inhabited Islands include Agatti, Andrott, Amini, Kavaratti, Kalpeni, Kadmat, Kiltan, Bitra, Chetlat and Minicoy. Lakshadweep is connected mostly to Kerala through Cochin and is under the Jurisdiction of Kerala High Court.

The common belief is that the first settlers in these Islands were brought by the renowned erstwhile Kerala King Cheraman Perumal, after a shipwreck in the stormy Arabian Sea. Lakshadweep presently has a majority of Muslim population and there are more than fifty mosques, some of which attract huge crowd of devotees and have beautiful architectural styles like Ujra mosque.

One of the main attractions in the Lakshadweep Islands is the abundance of fisheries items and the variety of fishes from the Arabian Sea. Oceanic birds flying over the Islands is an eye catching experience. The common people in Lakshadweep are very friendly, good hosts and they belong to Arab and Hindu culture. Other tourist spot which can be visited by adventurous travelers includes the poultry farms, milk dairies at Kavaratti and Minicoy and the Marine Museum.

Festooned with wonderful coral islands, marine life in Lakshadweep is simply superb and unique. The rich and credited legacy of eye catching and unspoiled world of marine life is the prime attraction of the lagoons of the Kadmat and Bangaram islands. Lakshdweep is famed for many water sports including Scuba diving, Kayaking and Canoeing. A paradise for divers, Lakshadweep Islands is world renowned as the definitive exotic diving location in the Arabian Sea.

Attractions:

Lighthouse
Established in 1885 by the British at Minicoy, it is one among the oldest lighthouses in Lakshadweep. This is a wonderful structure attracting many tourists, being a major landmark in Minicoy Island. One can go right up to the top of this lighthouse with a height of 300 feet. A bird’s eye view of the Lakshadweep islands is an amazing scene from the top of the Light house. The surroundings reverberate with dynamic activities in the Island.

Agatti Islands
Many adjectives can be used to describe the pristine natural beauty of Agatti Islands in Lakshadweep. Soothing weather, a balanced mix of sunlight, sea breeze and sandy shore makes the visit in Agatti memorable for a visitor. Swaying palm trees, silvery beaches and exotic coral reefs, nature has gifted Agatti all its prime attractions.

Agatti is the gateway to Lakshadweep, as the only airport in the islands is situated here. Agatti is best suited for many water sports. One can experience the real pleasure of fiber glass boats and country canoe cruises. Agatti has an outstandingly attractive lagoon in the west, with multi colored fish fauna and exquisite coral growths. This is a remarkable tourist destination.

Amindivi Islands
Amini or Amidivi Islands, the first and foremost human inhabited Island and densely populated, is famous for superior quality of coir products. The island with tropical climate is small in area. It is only 3 km long and 1.6 km wide.

This island was captured in the 16th century by the Portuguese. They made it as their colony, attracted by the craft of making of coir ropes. Later British took over the control in 1799 till the merging of Lakshadweep with the Indian Union.

The island is famous for many beautiful craftworks, walking sticks beautifully made with the shells of tortoise and coconut and carved striking flower motifs on hard coral stones, are some important artifacts available here.

Andretti Islands

Andrott (Andretti) Island, the largest Island in Lakshdweep, is the closest to the mainland of India through Cochin. It is a densely populated island, situated with glamour and glare of natural beauty. The Island is blessed with many tourist attractions including many Buddhist archeological remains and the tomb of Saint Hazrat Ubaidullah.

Andrott has the unique feature of lying in the east-west direction; all other islands are oriented in north-south direction. The island is dense with coconut palms and coir industry flourishes in this island. If the tourists are patient enough, they can catch hold of small species of octopus during the neap tides from sea shore in this island. This is a calm and attractive place to spend the evenings.

Kalpeni Islands

Kalpeni Islands, Koefaini as per Arab writers, is a group of three small islands and is considered as one of the most exquisite and impressive islands of Lakshadweep. The satellite islands Cheriyam, Pitti and Tilakkam are inhabited and many tourists are attracted to this Kalpeni Islands to spend their holidays.

A unique feature of this Island is the coral debris along the south eastern and eastern banks. This island is encircled by a lagoon of fantastic splendor, which is highly rich in coral life. Kalpeni is famous for many water sport activities.

Kayaking and Canoeing
Excellent facilities on the sea shore and the tempting sea waves make Lakshadweep an ideal spot for water sports, mainly Kayaking and Canoeing. Paddling through amazing sea waves in the unpredictable weather makes canoeing one of the most challenging water sports.

Canoeing and Kayaking are very eco-friendly dynamic sports. Kayaks, looking like cute fishing boats, are best used in Arabian Sea waters for kayaking sport. Lakshdweep offers many training facilities for new adventurous tourists in Kayaking and canoeing. Kavaratti and Kalpeni Islands are famous for these sports.

Scuba diving
Clear and unspoiled water in the Lakshadweep makes it a neat and perfect destination for diving. Lakshadweep has grown to a wonderful stature with unique diving facilities. Scuba diving is practiced here with much vigor and dynamism. Water Sports Institute, located at Kadmat Islands, provides necessary equipments, Scuba diving facilities and training for the interested visitors. Competent instructors are also available at this Institute. Another place offering Scuba diving facilities is Dolphin Dive Center in Kavaratti.

How to reach
By Air: Lakshadweep has an airport in the island of Agatti and is very well connected by regular flights from Kochi (Cochin) in Kerala. It takes one and a half hours to travel from Kochi (Cochin) to Agatti. Helicopter services are available from Agatti to the capital city of Kavaratti.

By Sea: Some passenger ships are organized by the Lakshadweep Administration which sails from Kochi to Lakshadweep, thus giving you an opportunity to sail through the deep blue waters of Arabian Sea. It takes nearly 18 to 20 hours. The ships offer proper accommodation facilities accompanied by basic amenities and hospitable services. The other facilities offered on the vessel are entertainment lounge, cafeteria, video shows, snacks bar, upper-deck airing space, doctor on call etc.