North Andaman | Diglipur, Andaman Island | India

Smith and Ross Islands are sister islands separated by a bar of sand. During high tide the sandbar submerges under water and the two islands appears separate. The beach at this location is rated number one among all the existing beaches of Andaman Islands. The Ross Island of the Smith-Ross duo is often confused with the famous colonial colony at Ross Island near Port Blair. Smith and Ross  offers a virgin beach followed by a tropical forest. Ross and Smith Island is a 20 minutes (distance 5 km) boat ride from Aerial Bay jetty is an ideal spot for Beach tourism, Adventure (trekking through tropical forest), Research / Education (like scuba diving, snorkeling, turtle nesting). The 450 metre long sand bar joining Smith and adjoining Ross island is the main attraction.

Smith Island  also houses a small village of about 60 families. Smith Island beach is notified for Turtle nesting during seasons

Saddle peak is the highest point (732 metres) of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The trek to the Peak which offers an aerial view of North Andaman is about 8 km long from the park entrance at Lamiya Bay / Kalipur. The initial stretch of 3 km runs along the coastline.  Saddle Peak National Park is a dense tropical forest housing a rich bank of exquisite trees, (including sandal), rare flora and wild fruits and offering trekking opportunities including climbing up natural steps formed by the roofs of old trees.

There are 3 peaks in the park 1) Saddle Peak 2) the second peak named Ice degree peak 3) Unnamed point which provides a aerial view of Diglipur to Mayabunder.

The Peaks are notified as Saddle Peak National park in 1979. The park is uninhabited and not frequented by trekkers. At Every 500 meter, Forest department has built hutments with benches. Due to humid weather the trek is tiresome and it is advisable to start it early in the morning. As there are no shops on the way necessary refreshments needs to carried.

The beach lies around 3 kilometers ahead of Kalipur beach (and 25 Km from Diglipur Bazaar) and lies at the foothill of Saddle Peak, the highest peak of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Lamiya Bay is also locally called "Lemiyar Bay".  This beautiful beach has a long stretch of beach covered with shells and fine polished pebbles and it is also a known turtle-nesting site.  The Andaman Administartion has constructed eco-friendly huts and a Watch Tower for the tourists.

Mutiple streams of fresh water orginating out of the Saddle peak hill end near the beach in the foothills of Saddle Peak National Park.

More on National Parks at Andaman and Nicobar

Mud Volcano at Diglipur : The mud volcanoes at North Andaman are described by locals as better than that found in Baratang Islands. The mud volcanoes at North Andaman are located at Jal Tikry near Hathi level around 20 kilometers from Diglipur Bazaar (direction towards Laxmipur).

20 kms from Diglipur there are a chain of Mud volcanoes could be witnessed in the green jungle.One has to trek for 15 minutes in the semi-evergreen forests to reach Mud volcano. At the initial point, bigger and dormant mud volcano can be sighted. On proceeding further for few minutes fresh emerging mud volcanoes could be seen. Information boards are provided for visitors.

kalipur Beach also home to thousands of turtles during their nesting period. During the winter months of Dec/Jan, turtle nesting takes place in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

RamNagar Beach, beyond Kalighat is a popular beach destination. . This beach is suitable for swimming and sun basking. A nature trail for trekkers is an added attraction. This beach is well known for turtle nesting. Eco-friendly beach facilities like eco-huts, benches and seating arrangements have been provided.

An hour trek through the RamNagar jungle leads to a cluster of 41 caves. These caves are den for rare edible nest producing swiftlets (Collocacia f. inexpectata) and fruit eating bats. Best time to visit the caves is from December to March. The caves with a very narrow entrance, open up into chain of deep caves inside. Only a handful of the 41 caves are accesssible easily. 

Read our Blog on how to visit the Caves

Elizabeth Bay is located to the west of North Andaman and is reachable by boat from Radhanagar Creek. It is also possible to walk upto the Bay amid the jungles with the help of a local guide. Elizabeth Bay has a beautiful cresentric shaped beach and surely is one of the best beaches in Andaman Islands. So far the Government has done nothing to promote this beautiful location on earth. The local residents dont even know the the official name of the place but they do know it by its local name "Bees Family" or "20 Family". The human settlement at this place still has a status of encroached land.

  Elizabeth Bay at North Andaman was in international media in October 2012 when a group of 41 short-finned pilot whales beached near Elizabeth Bay.

     Media coverage:

• http://www.news.com.au
• https://tribune.com.pk/story/456815/40-whales-die-in-mass-stranding-on-indian-island/
• https://www.dawn.com/news/

Multipurpose Farm at Keralapuram is developed and maintained by the Department of Agriculture. It showcases all the locally available fruits, flowers and vegetables. Beautiful Orchids, Apiary and GreenHouses are also demonstrated. Various seeds and seedlings are sold at the Depot outlet of the farm. Its a must visit for the Tourists with interest in Botany. The farm is one among the 33 Farms / Plantations units managed by the Department of Agriculture in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The local farmers are provided training on agriculture techniques from time to time at this place.

    Media Coverage:

• Training programme on bee keeping conducted at Diglipur
• Training on enterprise development held at Diglipur

Kalpong Hydroelectricity Project (KHEP) is built on the catchment area of the only perenial river of the Andaman Islands "Kalpong river" at North Andaman. The approach gate for the Project is situated on the way to Kalighat creek and Ramnagar near Kalara village. It is built by National Hydel Power Corporation and is the only Hydroelectricity Power Project at Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The total length of the KHEP dam is 146 metres.  The project with a capacity of 5.25 MW started power distribution  in the North Andaman areas from June 2002.