Barren Island

Barren Island is a volcanic cone about three kilometres across rising from the Andaman Sea, the only confirmed active volcano in South Asia, which first erupted in recorded history in 1787 and has been in an active phase more or less continuously since 1991, with lava reaching the sea in several episodes. Nobody lives there; the island is uninhabited apart from goats, bats and birds, and landing is prohibited. It is seen from boats standing offshore, sometimes with steam or ash visible from the cone, and the surrounding water is a well-regarded dive site with black volcanic sand slopes and dense fish life.

History

Argon-argon dating shows the oldest lava flows above sea level are 1.6 million years old, on oceanic crust roughly 106 million years old. The first recorded eruption was in 1787, followed by others in 1789, 1795, 1803-04 and 1852; after nearly a century and a half of quiet the volcano erupted again in 1991 for six months, and it has been active repeatedly since, including from 2017 to 2019 and almost continuously since January 2022 (Wikipedia, Barren Island (Andaman Islands)).

What you'll find

• The cone - a bare volcanic island rising straight from the sea.
• The activity - steam, ash or glow from the crater in active phases.
• The lava fields - black flows running to the shoreline.
• The dive sites - volcanic sand and dense marine life offshore.

When to go

December to April, when seas are calmest; the monsoon makes the crossing impossible. Trips are chartered from Port Blair or run as part of dive liveaboards, and both need arranging well ahead.

Before you go

Landing is prohibited and the island can only be viewed from a boat offshore. Trips are expensive charters, weather-dependent and often cancelled. Eruptive activity is not predictable and may not be visible.

Nearby

Port Blair lies southwest; Havelock is south.

Key facts