Andaman Islands

While Lakshadweep has the clear blue lagoons of coral atolls, the Andamans are part of the Indonesian archipelago of islands surrounded by deep, undisturbed waters that have an astounding bio-diversity. Situated in the Andaman Sea, about 1200 kms from mainland India in the past it has been relatively hard to get to these islands, so it remained one of the dive world's best kept secrets for a long time. The 500 islands scattered across a huge distance present a greatly unexplored underwater habitat and has one of the richest coral reef systems in the world. Havelock Island alone has fifteen documented dive sites, and the island's waters are brimming with exotic marine life, from enormous manta rays, large schools of hammerhead sharks and barracuda, as well as dolphins, turtles and the endangered dugong. These days there are daily flights from Calcutta and Chennai to Port Blair, opening up this treasure trove for avid divers.