The Andaman Islands Quick Look

The most fantastic spot in the Andaman Sea is an extinct volcano. Walls drop to over 700 meters here as well—just off the shoreline—but the difference between this volcano and Barren Island is that here everything is alive and healthy. This is truly a diver’s paradise.

Imagine four-meter tall barrel sponges. Sea fans are twice as large as they are in the Similan Islands. Monstrous dog-toothed tuna—one animal we saw was almost three meters long—cruise the walls and the shallower reef tops. The best part of our first trip to the area was the herds of mobula and manta rays that visited us on every dive—both in shallow and deep water. In four days we saw at least 50 of these rays and our first afternoon there we spent snorkeling with a group of 20 animals while they fed on the surface.

Mantas and mobula are everywhere you go, even in shallow water right up to the beaches. No one knows why there are so many here, but the local soldiers who were stationed at the island said that they stay all year-round.

Barren Island is a volcanic island, and a very active one at that, as it erupts on a regular basis. The eruptions cover almost everything underwater and above with thick layers of black sand, creating an unusual landscape to explore. The southern side of the island has a deep wall down to over 700 meters of depth, and this drop-off is almost vertical. The northern side of the island slopes more gently, but to equally great depths.

Although the layers of volcanic sand and lava killed most of the coral, dogtooth tunas, unbelievably large great barracuda, and sharks swim along its black walls. About the only life growing on the walls are white hydroids, which stings a bit when touched. Hammerhead sharks cruise through here, as well as very large silvertip sharks, gray reef sharks, and white tip reef sharks. Mostly the sharks are seen on very deep dives of over 50m or 200ft, well beyond the abilities of most recreational divers.

On the gentle slope of the northern area, you can still see enormous sea fans which were half-buried by black volcanic sand but still alive and thriving. The contrast between the orange sea fans and the black sand is dramatic and something you don’t see often. It is also very interesting to swim over huge areas of sand surrounded by pitch-black vertical walls. It’s almost as if you’re swimming over a huge black sand beach.
Visibility can exceed 50 meters here, and even though there is not much coral left, the contrasting vivid colors of bright fish against the jet-black walls is almost psychedelic.

The dive area is one of the easiest to access as it lies close to Havelock Island. At first it doesn't seem much of a dive, as the coral is shallow and sparse and most of the small hill which rises up from the depths, is just sand. However, the fish life makes it very interesting. When we first explored the area, we went deeper to see the “big stuff” but soon realized that just sitting in one spot was the best way to dive here. We sat for over one-hour at about eight-meters and just watched the fish circle. We had a little wind-up toy of a white tip reef shark, just under 60 centimeters long, who would swim up to our masks, and then away for a few minutes, and back to us again. The fish overcame their shyness very quickly and soon we were surrounded by thousands of them, of all sizes and species. This is also one of the best snorkeling sites in the Andamans, although you must swim the whole time as there is no bottom to stand on.

The dive schools in the Andamans are almost all located in the Ritchies Archipelago and in particular, Havelock Island. There are now at least five dive centers here, but working and living in the Andamans is difficult and the bureaucracy unimaginable, so don't except this information to be current when you read it. The dive centers have found a lot of good dive sites in the area, but the offshore sites that they cannot reach are still the best in the Andamans. However, everything from diving in mangrove areas with clear water, pinnacles, sandy shoals, channels between islands, and even diving with swimming elephants is possible. For more information, please visit Dive India's website. They have a reputable dive center and have been there for some years.

Although not one of the best sites in the Andamans, it is visited by virtually every dive boat as it’s on the way from Phuket to Port Blair where you must check in prior to exploring either north or south. On the chart, the dive site appears to be very large, but most of the area which lies in depths friendly to divers is sand. Flat Rock, which prominently protrudes from the water, is the only place to dive.

The waters just around it are very shallow, but you can get out to a depth of 15 meters or so if you venture over the sand. Like most places in the Andaman Islands, the fish life is the attraction here. There are almost no corals, hard or soft. But, swim around the area in 10 meters of water or less, and you’re likely to run into almost every kind of tropical pelagic fish imaginable. Sharks, including great hammerheads are seen often. Huge bumphead parrotfish and Napoleon wrasse patrol the area and are not shy around divers.

Passage Island features an offshore pinnacle appropriately called by many, Fish Rock, where almost every kind of pelagic fish can be seen in great numbers. The currents here can be vicious, but the rewards are enormous.

The diving is best when the current is running strong, as fish are feeding during this time. Thus, the best way to dive the rock is by jumping in up current and descend rapidly down to 20 meters or so. Then, grab onto a rock, hold on, and watch the show. Keep your eyes on the deeper blue water and the reef edge where the rock meets the sand, and often you'll see gray reef sharks attacking rainbow runners and dogtooth tuna. Large eagle rays patrol the plankton rich waters completely at ease in the strong currents. Groupers larger than most men cruise the reef unafraid of divers—mainly because they've never seen a diver before. Huge bumphead parrotfish go by in schools of 20 or more. Of course if you get tired of this, you can always look for small animals on the reef and the varieties are unbelievable. However, swimming along the reef when the current is running strong is extremely exhausting, so most divers are happy just to sit in one place.

There are not a lot of other dive sites in the area, so during a trip you are likely to visit this site many times. It’s not a huge site, but there is certainly a lot to see, and a lot of action.