HIGH ON ADVENTURE – ELEPHANT BEACH, HAVELOCK ISLAND

Wanna a rush of adrenalin? Go to Elephant Beach. It’s high on adventure and you’re spoilt for choice!! Uprooted trees with enormous bleached trunks washed ashore add beauty to the beach.

The turquoise water is shallow for few feet away and then occupied with large coral reefs. The pristine white sandy beach is picture-perfect for snorkeling, scuba diving as its vibrant and perceptible. Perhaps, sea walking is much better here than in North Bay. As we emptied the boat, the Helmsman gave us three hours to relish a floating holiday at the beach.

We merely walked along the shores hand in hand deviating ourselves from the crowd towards the washed-out massive trunks of the fallen trees. We walked over the trunk and clicked a lot of pictures.

We chased a few hermit crabs and tiny snails that crawled at ease with their conical shells over them. I remember collecting quite a lot of shells from different beaches in India, but here it’s a forbidden and a punishable offense! Though not a conchologist, I love collecting shells of different shapes and sizes. I do have starfish shells that I bought it for Rs. 50 on my trip to KanyaKumari. After seeing all the dead corals along the shorelines, I desired to make a replica in plaster of Paris.

We sat on the shores like little kids with gushing water tides splashing on us every now and then. Just unwind at the shore; the sun wraps you in its warmth… We loved it! A perfect beach holiday! An hour and a half flew away in the sunny beach, mesmerized in the turquoise hued water. We moved swiftly to go for snorkeling.

Snorkeling at Elephant Beach

It’s merely floating on the water surface watching the underwater life, with your snorkeling gear. Even non-swimmers can snorkel with the help of swim ring and if you know swimming you can take a deep dive snorkel. It’s what makes exhilarating when you travel to Islands. We opted for deep snorkeling as the complimentary one comes only for five minutes. It costs Rs. 800 and two divers accompanied us. One of them escorts us and the other to picture the nature-adventure moments in the sea. We were told that it would be charged only when we complete it fully and if we quit it in the midway out of fear, we don’t need to pay. That’s a righteous to assess your adrenaline-rush!

At first, as I wore the mask and looked into water, I panicked and gasped for air. I stopped and removed the mask, even before I could start with it! A moment later, Lazz and I snorkeled hand in hand for nearly 20 minutes. I was so thrilled to see all those little colored fishes and was screaming out of joy trying to catch them. I really loved the moment and astounded on how beautiful the aquatic lives are. This will be the best moment of your life to cherish and it lingers for a long!

Then, I went for Jet-ski (called as water scooter) ride and it costs Rs. 600 here. It pumps your adrenaline high! I told the guy to slow-down for a while in the mid-way as I was frightened looking at the dark blue sea. He knows only Hindi and I know only English. Dazed! Well, your emotions and gestures don’t need a language to communicate. He understood and slowed-down the ride.

There are other rides like Banana boat rides, sofa rides failed to fascinate us as we couldn’t come out of wondrous snorkeling. We took our pictures copied in our mobiles and went to change our dress. Later, we had a platter of fruit salad and a papadi chat to keep ourselves full, sitting on the sands of Elephant beach, waiting for our fellow boatmates to come in.

By the end of your sojourn, you’ll feel relaxed and refreshed!

We left the beach around 1 PM and had our lunch in a small shop nearby the Havelock jetty before we board our ferry to Port Blair at 2: 45 PM. In 90 minutes, Makruzz left us in Port Blair and we headed back to Ripple Resort for a night stay.

How to get there:

• There are two ways to reach Elephant beach either by trekking 2 Kms through the forests just before Radha Nagar Beach or by taking a boat from Havelock jetty. Though the trek takes nearly 40 minutes, you could spend more time in the beach not just only 3 hours!

Note:

• There are locker rooms, changing rooms available in the beach. So enjoy your day without any worry.
• Pack your food and water as there are only food chat shops available.
• Do bring your own snorkeling gear for an unending happiness!

Take a look at our trip to Cellular Jail, Baratang Island, Ross Island, Radhanagar beach, Kalapathar Beach, Chidiya Tapu in Andaman Islands.

Here is our travel guide to plan your dream trip to Andaman: The Ultimate Andaman and Nicobar Islands – Travel guide.

Take a look at our 14 best Andaman travel tips that’ll help you on your first trip.

With Luv,