Andaman - Nicobar Islands is also know as Emerald Islands. Anyone who loves the sight of whispy coconut plams swaying in the breeze, the feel of soft white sand under bare feet, the flash of birds vivid against the blue sky, the play of green shadows in the forest, the infinite variety of underwater marine life, will surely enjoy visiting Andaman - Nicobar Islands. An archipelao of 572 islands, adrift in the Bay of Bengal, the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands stretches over an area of more than 700 kms. Since pre-historic times, aboriginal tribes have lived on these islands. The Andaman group is inhabited by tribes of Negrito origin, while the Nicobar Islands are inhabited by the Mongloid stock. The first settlement of the British took place in 1789 and later in 1858, it became a penal settlement. Today, people of all faiths live here - Hindus, Muslims, Christains, Sikhs and of course the tribals. This amazing liguistic and racial mix has resulted in a culture that is innately hospitable and uniquley distinctive. For the nature lover, the islands offer rich and varied delights. the sea around offers ample scope for water sports while the islands themselves consist of their lush green forest cover extending to over 86% of territory. the rarest of rare flora and fauna have flourished undisturbed on these islands, more so because only 36 of these are inhabited.
Adventure sports like trekking, island camping, snorkelling and scuba diving are not be the missed attractions. And for the tourists who want to get away from the madding crowd, a visit to these islands remains etched in the memory forever. In the Bay of Bengal, 1000 kms off the east coast of India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise around 500 mostly uninhabited tropical islands with unique flora and fauna, lush forests, white sandy beaches and exquisite coral, brilliant tropical flora and are thickly forested with evergreen, deciduous rainforest and tropical trees, with mangrove swamps on the water's edge. Hilly in parts, they have superb palm fringed white sand beaches and coral reefs. The sparkling clear water is excellent for snorkelling with increasing opportunity for fabulous scuba diving for beginners ans experienced. The Andamans are also a bird watcher's paradisewith 242 species of mammals and 83 of reptiles, many endemic as the islands are isolated. It is now, in thoery, possible to visit some of the newly opened remote islands.
The islands form the peaks of a vast submerged mountain rangethat extends foralmost 1000 kms between Myanmar (Burma) and Sumatra. The highest point, addle peak, is on north Andaman . The Nicobar Islands begin 50 kms south of the little Andaman. While geographically close to Myanmar, politically the Andaman and Nicobar Islands belong to the Union Territory of India. Until the beginnings of the colonial rule, the Andamans were populated mainly by the Andamanese - indigenous tribes of the Negrito people. Patterns of traditional life still remain among the Jarawa and Onge tribes who live in the interior regions of south Andaman. However, the majority of 3,00,000 people on the Andamans are mainland settlers of thier descendants who live in and around Port Blair, the capital on the south Andaman. The indigenous inhabitants of the Nicobars, the Nicobarese , probably descended from people of Malaysia and Myanmar. Their dialects belong to the Mon-Khmer group.
