Andaman and Nicobar Islands: Baratang Lime Caves and return

Day 6:

The day started quite early, 2:00 am in morning. We were supposed to travel to Baratang Limestone caves and mud volcano. Journey to view the caves at Baratang Island in itself is an adventure and memorable experience. Why?? Read below.

Baratang Lime Caves

Baratang island is located between Middle and South Andaman Islands.

The first part of journey to Baratang involves first reaching the Jiratang gate from Port Blair through the Andaman Grand Truck road . It takes approximately 2.5 hours to reach the gates. En-route, we pass through scarcely populated villages with jungle on both sides and crocodile warning signs.

At the gate, one needs to wait till the gates open at 6 am. An army convoy escorts all the vehicles through the Jarawa tribe reserve. No halts, contact with Jarawa tribes, pictures and exchange of goods is permitted. The entire journey is done with closed doors and windows. This is done to protect both the travelers and tribes, and more so specifically the tribes since they do not have natural immunity against the diseases we might carry.  We were able to seecatch a glimpse of one of the tribal huts and few tribal men, women and children who were on their daily routine through the forest.

After passing through the tribal reserve we reached Nilamber Jetty. The ferry is here is big enough to accommodate big buses, cars and bikes.  Imagine the size !!!

After reaching the Baratang Jetty, we took a speed boat through sea which took us through dense mangroves to the starting point of the small trek to Baratang Lime caves.  Our trek of approximately 3 kms was quite an experience, since it had rained the previous day, the path was muddy, filled with roots of mangroves and trees of the surrounding dense forest and few steps up and down leading to the caves.  The forest trees have been given name tags of their species and it’s a treat to know this while you traverse.

The caves are pretty small and chilly. The caves have naturally formed limestone stalactite and stalagmites which can be seen using a torch. It is prohibited to touch the formations, since the warm temperature can turn the limestone black and stunt its growth. They are in all sorts of shapes and sizes. The structures were in shape of conch shell, Lord Ganesha, noses, monkey etc. Since there is no light inside the caves and sometimes a lot of tourists , one is unable to appreciate the beauty of these structures calmly.

Here, I would like to mention about the caves in Grutas De Garcia near Monterrey in Mexico. Now unlike Baratang, these are within a dessert area and have been preserved quite well. They have multicolored lights focused on the stalactites and stalagmites which enhance the beauty of these structures. The tour through the caves is well organized. In case you want to read more, click Grutas De Garcia.

We could not visit Parrot Island and Rangat since the tour through which we had traveled didn’t cover this in their itinerary. If you are planning to go on your own, do include them..

Mud Volcano

Post the caves visit, we visited Mud Volcano which was quiet an anticlimax since the entire site resembles a construction site. Neither did we see any gases, nor any volcano.

The route back to Port Blair is through the same roads.

Overall, don’t miss Baratang Islands as going through the journey itself is an experience.

Journey back home

While coming back, DH spotted Raigad from the flight. It was lovely to see the fort and spot the various locations on it.

On the road trip back to Pune , I could feel we had visited an ecosystem which was self-sufficient in itself..

We, those who reside in a developed world, filled with our prejudices and so-called technology advancement, can we really help these tribes? The tribes without any external help have survived for thousands of years by relying on their natural instincts and natural sources. Are we doing them any good by trying to get them into our world?

After few weeks of being back the incident on Sentinel Island again made me revisit this thought. Due to the visit, I was able to relate to everything that was mentioned by Dr. Madhumala Chattopadhyay in her study of the tribes as an anthropologist. You can read about it in detail here.

My top three reasons for visiting Andaman and Nicobar Islands

• Historically Andaman has a major part to play in the freedom struggle of India. As a generation which has only witnessed freedom, we should understand who our freedom fighters were and what the endured to get independent and give us the gift of freedom
• Geographically the islands are located between Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea. They are quite important from sea routes and ports POV. It’s quite an experience to study the maps like I did after this trip
• Understand that development doesn’t necessarily lie in only technology, industry and science but also in preserving the essence of being human and staying close to our natural instinct. The tribes of Andaman can help you in this through their history

Top activities to do

Trekking, snorkeling, scuba diving, swimming, visiting islands , exploring beaches , glass boat riding, sea cruises, museums, admiring coral beauty, admiring hand made good from coconut shells, sea shells, etc. and above all meeting people from sovereign India.

Top Tourists Spots

Port Blair for Cellular Jail, Kaalapani Museum (India’s only private museum), Samudrika Naval Marine museum, Aberdeen Bazaar

Ross Island for its ruins and history

Viper Island for its first jail

Havelock Island for Radha Nagar beach (Voted the best beach in Asia), Elephant beach, Kalapathar beach and bird-watching;

Neil Island for its rustic beauty and water sport activities,

Baratang Limestone Caves

Jolly Buoy Island, Red Skin Island.