A memorable trip to Agatti - Lakshadweep. Review on Lakshadweep

My first encounter with Lakshadweep would have been when I was in 4-5th standard. We always represented it with few dots at the lower left part on the map of India. For next two and half decades my impression of Lakshadweep remained the same till I made a visit to this spectacular place very recently. It definitely is much more than few dots.

I had been to few such places across the globe but the combination of sand, water, nature, and solitude did not even come close to what Lakshadweep offers at less than half the price. Images of turquoise color water with pure white sand are just difficult to get out of my mind. Visibility of water would put the Bisleris and Aquafinas to shame. With snorkeling gear I could see the corals and colorful marine life in full clarity even 2-3 meters deep under water. For someone bit adventurous, scuba diving provides an out of the world experience at least 10 times better than available on Discovery channel.

As far as the tourism is concerned it is mostly managed by government (SPORTS). Out of 7-8 major islands, private resorts are available only at Agatti and Bangaram; the latter being twice as expensive as the former and hence mainly to attract foreigners. We (my wife, daughter and I) were supposed to travel to Kadmat but at the last moment our destination was changed to Agatti. It takes about 22 hrs to reach Agatti from Kochi by ship which is fortunately very well managed. This island is probably 4-5 kms long and so thin that you could actually see the waves on either side of you while standing in the middle. Amazingly the behaviour and the color of water is different; one side being calm and turquoise green whereas the other being aqua blue and slightly rough.

There are no restaurants, movie theaters, or theme parks for entertainment. Other than enjoying different water sports activities only thing you can do is to soak yourself in water, sun, and sand. There are no discotheques or any kind of night life so people with this kind of taste should rather head to Goa.

To sum it up, there could be few hiccups while booking your trip because of our beloved Babus. However, once you reach there I can bet you wouldn’t feel like leaving this place. Unless you possess some divine powers, this is probably the closest to heaven you can get.