Baratang Island

Baratang lies between South and Middle Andaman, and reaching it involves two distinctive stages: a road that runs through the Jarawa tribal reserve, travelled only in timed convoys under rules that prohibit stopping, photographing or interacting with the Jarawa in any way, and then a boat through mangrove creeks to a jetty. From there a boardwalk leads to limestone caves with stalactite and flowstone formations. Elsewhere on the island, mud volcanoes push out cold grey mud from small cones, driven by gas rather than heat, forming low bubbling mounds a metre or two across.

History

The name comes from an Andamanese word linked to the bara tree, meaning "locality of our type of speech", and excavations at Hava Beel Cave and the shell midden at Wot-a-emi show people living on the island by at least 420 CE. The island is also called Ranchiwalas, after people from Ranchi who came here late in the 19th century, and a lighthouse at the eastern entrance to the Andaman strait was commissioned in 1985 (Wikipedia, Baratang Island).

What you'll find

• The mangrove creeks - narrow water channels through dense tidal forest.
• The limestone caves - stalactites and flowstone reached by boardwalk.
• The mud volcanoes - small cones pushing out cold grey slurry.
• The convoy road - the timed route through the reserve.

When to go

November to April; the monsoon closes boats and makes the road difficult. Convoys leave Port Blair very early, so the day starts before dawn and runs long.

What to expect

The road passes through the Jarawa reserve where photographing or contacting the community is illegal and seriously harmful; this is enforced. Convoy timings are rigid. The mud volcanoes are small and underwhelm many visitors.

Nearby

Rangat lies north; Port Blair is south.

Key facts