Baratang is one of the many islands of the Andaman Islands which is situated around 150 km from Port Blair. The trip to Baratang island is a one day journey from Port Blair. The island is famous for its natural wonders, for example, limestone caves, mangrove creeks as well as small but fascinating mud volcanoes. Though compared to other islands, it is less developed but because of its natural wonders, people do visit these islands.
We have hired a private vehicle which is the best and most comfortable way to reach Baratang. We have to go through the dense forest, which is home to the indigenous Jarawa tribe. One can actually see them, but our luck is not that great, so we have not witnessed any Jarawa. Be careful not to click photos or videos, because you can be fined for that.
Once we reach the endpoint of the island, we have to take the ferry to go to Baratang Island.
Once we reached the Baratang, we have taken a speed boat to go and see the Limestone Caves & Mangrove Creeks. It was a great scenic beauty where you can just admire the scenic coastline which is mainly covered with mangrove forests.
We have passed through mangrove-covered canals making the ride very exciting.
Once we reached the wooden jetty at Nayadera, we have to walk around 1.2 kms to view the Limestone caves.
The island is known for limestones, which deposit themselves either above the soil or under the ground forming interesting formations and layers.
The Limestone Caves are formed by depositing limestones above the soil and thus forming interesting formations and layers. The water which was constantly dipping makes the stalactites and stalagmites shine and glow.
Once we come back from the Caves we can again witness the Mangrove Caves closely.
The boat was parked near the jetty itself and thus we witnessed the beauty again while coming back. And then we have taken the ferry again and came back to Port Blair. We have not gone to the Mud Volcano because we did not have much time and thus even after skipping that we have reached Port Blair around 7 PM.
Since we have not seen Jarawa Tribes, so as a sovereign we have got a showpiece of the Jarawa Tribe and their God and Goddess. Now we are seeing them everyday.
So it was a great one day trip from Port Blair and the time was spent well. Though the trip was to be remembered for the great scenic beauty as well as to see the natural wonders.