Havelock Island (Andamans)

Beautiful sandy beaches fringed with canopy of forests

Havelock is a picturesque natural paradise with beautiful white sandy beaches, rich coral reefs and lush green forest. It is one of the populated islands in the Andaman group with an area of 113 sq. km. and is located 39 km of north-east of Port Blair.

This island, with beautiful sandy beaches fringed with green canopy of the rain-fed forests beckons everyone to enjoy the frolic and fun at the azure sea.

Tourist attractions

RADHANAGAR BEACH: Radhanagar Beach lies on the south coast of Havelock Island. It is about 12 kilometers from the Islands ferry pier. Radhanagar is a Grade A beach of outstanding quality. This beach is also rated as one of the best beaches in Asia by TIME Magazine. It has an overall length of two kilometers and an average width of 30 to 40 meters. The sand is white and very fine in grain. The beach has a gentle gradient of around 1:20 and continues out into the sea as a sandy bottom for over 100 meters.

VIJAYNAGAR BEACH: Vijaynagar Beach, Havelock, is a long stretch of sand on the east coast of the Island, punctuated occasionally by rock section. Most of the beach is lined by mahua trees, whose trunks grow along the ground for many feet before they begin to climb vertically. These trees have lent a distinct character to the sea front and provide shade, close to the water. Vijaynagar Beach is perfect for long walks along the sea. Dolphin Resort run by the Tourism Department and many other hotels are also located on this beach.

ELEPHANT BEACH: This beach is another ideal site for snorkeling. It has a rich coral reef formation and amazing underwater marine life. One can reach Elephant beach by small cruise boat from Havelock Jetty in about 40 minutes. By road one can go up to the Forest Camp which is 8 Kms from the Jetty towards Radhanagar side and from there by walk to the Elephant beach which will take another 40 minutes. Private ferry operators organize tours to Elephant beach from Havelock.

KALAPATHER BEACH: This beautiful silver sandy beach located 12 km from Havelock jetty is slowly gaining visitors footfall, though proper facilities are yet to be established.

What to Do?

Beach-combing, sunbathing, scuba diving, seawalk, snorkeling, watersports, surf riding, swimming, game fishing, watching the sunset or sunrise, elephant ride, bird-watching, trekking, sailing, kayaking and many more.

SCUBA DIVING: The abundance of marine life around Havelock provides a rich variety of varied diving sites.  ‘Seduction Point’, ‘Aquarium’, ‘Lighthouse’, ‘Pilot Reef’, ‘Mac Point’, ‘Minerva Ledge’ and ‘Turtle Bay’ are promising areas for diving. The following are the registered dive operators at Havelock. The ideal dive season is from December to May.

SWIMMING AND SNORKELING: One can enjoy swimming at the calm and clear waters of Radhanagar, Vijaynagar and Elephant beach. Snorkeling is available to view shallow areas of the coral reefs without going underwater with scuba equipment. Under the water, one can glide along the coral shelf and experience the strange and striking coral formations. One can see fish swim, nibbling at colorful algae, sea anemones and plankton right next to you.

How to Reach?

Government ferries run by the Directorate of Shipping Services connect Phoenix Bay jetty, Port Blair to Havelock daily. Private luxury boats Makruzz operated by M/s Mak Logistics, Port Blair & Coastal Cruise operated by M/s Coastal Seaways India Pvt. Ltd., Green Ocean, Bhagya Express ferry tourists to Havelock daily. At Havelock auto rickshaws, taxis, buses, motorbikes are available for transport within the island. The STS Department has introduced the services of two AC Deluxe bus at Havelock Island for the benefit of tourist and local public.

BY AIR: The Civil Aviation Dept. of A& N Administration operates regular seaplane & helicopter services from Port Blair airport to Havelock.