Andaman Nicobar

The Andaman & Nicobar Islands is a union territory of India. This territory is known as A & N Islands, or ANI. It is located in the Indian Ocean, in the southern reaches of the Bay of Bengal, nearer to Indonesia and Thailand. This comprises of two island groups - the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands - which separate the Andaman Sea to the east from the Indian Ocean. These two groups are separated by the 10° N parallel, the Andamans lying to the north of this latitude, and the Nicobars to the south. The capital of this territory is the Andamanese town of Port Blair. There are 572 islands in the territory, of which only some 38 are permanently inhabited. Most of the islands (about 550) are in the Andamans group, 26 of which are inhabited. The smaller Nicobars comprise some 22 main islands (10 inhabited). The Andamans and Nicobars are separated by a channel (the Ten Degree Channel) some 150 km wide. The territory's population as per the most recent (2001) Census of India was 356,152. Added together, the total land area of the territory is approximately 8,249 km².The total area of the Andaman Islands is some 6,408 km²; that of the Nicobar Islands approximately 1,841 km². The major languages spoken in the Andamans in numerical order are Bengali, Hindi, Tamil, Nicobarese and Telugu. Other languages include Malayalam and English. State Name: Andaman & Nicobar Islands Capital: Port Blair Location Location: Bay of Bengal Longitude: 920 to 940 East Latitude: 60 to 140 North Altitude (Highest Point) Andaman Islands : Saddle Peak (North Andaman Island): 732 Meters Nicobar Islands: Mount Thullier (Great Nicobar Island): 642 Meters Area Total Area: 8249 Sq. Kms. Andaman District: 6408 Sq. Kms. Nicobar District: 1841 Sq. Kms. Urban Area: 16.64 Sq. Kms. Rural Area: 8232.36 Sq. Kms. Total Islands: 572 Inhabited Islands: 36 Distance

• By Sea

Ship services for regular passenger are available to Port Blair from Chennai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam and back. There are three to four sailings every month from Kolkata and Chennai to Port Blair and vice-versa. There is only one sailing from Visakhapatnam in a month. The voyage takes about 50 to 60 hours and the ship normally berths at Haddo Port, Port Blair for about two to four days i) Distance by Sea (In Kilometers) Between Port Blair & Chennai: 1190 Between Port Blair & Calcutta: 1255 Between Port Blair & Visakhapatnam: 1200

• By Air

Airport of Andaman & Nicobar is situated at Port Blair the Capital of Andaman & Nicobar Islands which is connected with Chennai and Kolkata by air. Presently flights are operated by Indian Airlines, Jet Airways, Air Deccan, Jetlite are operating flights between Chennai-Port Blair-Chennai sector and Kolkata-Port Blair –Kolkata sector on all 7 days of the week. Jetlite operates flights between Delhi - Port Blair - Delhi via Kolkata on all 7 days of the week. ii) Distance by Air (In Kilometers) Between Calcutta & Port Blair: 1303 Between Chennai & Port Blair: 1330 Climate: Tropical throughout the year with minimum temperature at 230 Celsius and maximum at 310 Celsius. Humidity is relatively high – 70 to 90% with gentle breeze blowing all the time. The weather is generally pleasant with average annual rainfall at 3,000 mm at Port Blair from May to mid September and November to January. Forest Cover: 92%, Forest area 86% Best Season: October to May Clothing: Cottons throughout the year ISD Code: +91-3192 STD Code: 03192