Andaman - Part 3 - Neil Island : Soak into the laid-back vibes of this island

Shaheed Dweep earlier known as Neil Island is another famous tourist hotspot of Andaman famous for its tropical woodlands, white sandy beaches and amazing coral reefs. It is a tiny island spanning over an area of 13.7 sq.km most of which is covered with forest. Neil Island was named after British Brigadier general James Neill, who had fought on the side of the British East Indian company in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857.

We reached Havelock Jetty point and boarded Makruzz for our journey to Neil Island. It took an hour to reach Neil Island. 

Porters are available and they take your baggages in these bicycles

Upon arrival we boarded onto our vehicles and were taken straight to Pearl Park Beach Resort. 

But there was a huge wait time since most of the visitors had arrived around the same time and rooms were getting ready. So we left our baggages at the reception and decided to visit Bharatpur Beach first. An interesting fact about this island is all the beaches are named after the mythological characters of Ramayana. 

Bharatpur Beach

We reached Bharatpur beach but decided to dive into water first and then have lunch. Water is not that shallow here. So we could walk until the middle of the sea easily. It was like a wave pool here. Truly amazing experience. 

This is the only beach on the entire island where water sports are available. Our local guide said Scuba diving and Snorkeling is a must try. But since we had already completed these in Havelock, we didn't opt for any adventurous activities here. 

Changing rooms are available along with shower facility at a nominal rate of Rs 200 which is very well maintained. We then headed straight to lunch at one of the restaurants located in this beach area - Kiran Restaurant. Food was ok. 

Laxmanpur Beach 

Our stay was overlooking Laxmanpur Beach. So we checked into our stays, freshened up and then later in the evening took a stroll along this amazing property.  

By the way you can rent cycles here for a nominal rate of Rs 50 per hour to explore the island. We rented one bicycle from a shop nearby to our resort and it was a peaceful refreshing drive along this quaint small island.  

Natural Bridge

This is located near Laxmanpur Beach 2 and is a good place to get awestruck in the mystery of nature. Locally it is also known as Howrah Bridge. This bridge is accessible only during low tide time of the day as during high tide it gets totally covered with high waves from the ocean. 

From the parking lot you need to climb few steps, pass few shops and then reach the Laxmanpur beach shoreline.  From here you will have to take left and keep walking till the bridge. We had a local guide and a helper to help us wade through the slippery path till the bridge. 

This was the last spot of the day. Sitapur beach also is there but on the other side of the island. We didn't get time to visit that. We then headed straight to the Jetty to hop onto our cruise to Port Blair. 

Mostly people chose to stay here for a day or two since its a small island and all the spots can be easily covered in a day or two. Internet is mostly unavailable here and phone network is almost nil which helps you detox from the digital world completely. So if you really need a peaceful vacation from the hustle bustle of city life, then you must plan to stay little longer here to soak in the laid back vibe of this island. 

Andaman - Part 1 - Port Blair : The Gateway to Pristine Islands

Andaman - Part 2 - Havelock Island : Paradise for Adventure Seekers