[Red Liner]

What an unbelievably beautiful travelogue. Just loved all your pictures and commentary. Lakshadweep is so pristine. I must tell friends I know who keep making a beeline to Goa to reconsider and swap to Lakshadweep.

What do the locals do? Apart from tourism, what are the other industries there? Do the locals want to leave for other opportunities or are they content living in that idyllic island chain?

Considering you had nary a bad experience over a trip of more than a week, I do think the entire community is heavily geared towards tourism, and more importantly seem to have it in their blood to be utterly hospitable.

I will leave you with a little nugget of a whimsical poem of mine.

So much to see and do,
So little time.
To the beaches or to the mountains,
Must make haste,
Whilst the sun shines.

[Thermodynamics]

What an amazing travelogue, engaging write up and mesmerizing photographs. I’m sure your travelogue would have instilled a desire in many souls to visit Lakshadweep. It left me googling it for hours. Thanks for sharing all those details. Rating well deserved 5 stars.

should be pretty expensive, I guess ?

[DriveTrain]

Originally Posted by sayakc

If someone were to show me the white sand-blue sea photos I would have thought Maldives without a shred of doubt.

Which photography gear do you use?

Another question (not sure whether its answered in the travelogue) - I heard alcohol is banned in Lakswadeep. Is that true?

Thank you Sayak.

You are not wrong about the Maldives connection. Actually, the distance between Minicoy, the southernmost island of Lakshadweep archipelago and Thuraakunu , the northern tip of Maldives is only just greater than 60 nautical miles. The “Eight Degree Channel” separates the two, and Lakshadweep is part of the same marine mountain range as the Maldives . The Lakshadweep Archipelago forms a terrestrial eco-region together with the Maldives and the Chagos.

Except for the underwater shots , all photos were taken using a mobile phone. Majority of the shots were taken with a OnePlus 7 Pro and a remaining few with a OnePlus 7. I use DXO PhotoLabs for PP in my workflow. The underwater photos and video at Kadmat was shot via a GoPro by our accompanying guide (Diver) , it is complimentary . The underwater snorkeling videos were taken using a Akaso V50 Elite. That was me trying to figure out how to use it underwater for the first time - really messed those up

Yes, Lakshadweep is under strict prohibition , except for Bangaram island , which has a bar specifically for tourists.

Originally Posted by fz_rider

Lakshwadeep is indeed untouched as off now. But it's slowly catching up.
When compared to Andamans, it's a little expensive I guess, and it has less things to do. Its a heaven for simply disconnecting from everything.
Can you please tell how much the trip cost.

Thank you fz_rider.

I believe that tourism has caught up in a big way at Lakshadweep , it has not exploded like other places only because it is consciously regulated. The Samudram package is almost always sold out in a couple of days and Bangaram is full of tourists.

I have pm-ed you the details.

Since Thermodynamics also had a similar question , I am sharing my thoughts on expenses at the end.

Originally Posted by Red Liner

What do the locals do? Apart from tourism, what are the other industries there? Do the locals want to leave for other opportunities or are they content living in that idyllic island chain?

Considering you had nary a bad experience over a trip of more than a week, I do think the entire community is heavily geared towards tourism, and more importantly seem to have it in their blood to be utterly hospitable.

Thank you so much Red Liner. How very apt and a touching wizardry with words, I thoroughly enjoyed your poem.

The main industries out there are fishing (Tuna) , coconut cultivation, coir / copra making and tourism. But tourism is largely via SPORTS only.

One regret I have is not getting a real chance to interact with the locals . At Bangaram and Thinnakara (for that matter in any SPORTS campus) you really do not get that chance as it is isolated. However the staff are all locals. They are all from different islands within the archipelago. Some are direct employees while others are engaged through seasonal contracts. People are very simple and mild mannered and as you rightly said , very hospitable.

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

should be pretty expensive, I guess ?

Thank you so much Thermodynamics.

I guess , it is , if compared to an average trip to a mountain or seaside resort in India, not counting a stay in a luxury or super luxury resorts in those locations.. .

IMHO , if you take the Samudram Package via Ship , it only costs about 32K per head for 5 days - Kochi to Kochi , with food , accommodation and sight seeing transfers.Only water sports activities are extra , and then too some basic activities are thrown in as freebies. And if you are in Government service , this package has a LTC benefit as well.

Costs creep up when you opt for individual island stays , particularly a stay in Bangaram can set you back quite a bit. A big chunk will be the airfare till Agatti . This head will actually be quite less for people staying in the Southern part of India , than say for those traveling from North or East.

Inter island transfers for the individual island hops also seem to be quite steep , vis a vis the type of transportation that is offered (it is a fraction of the cost for the locals)

But you need to consider the remoteness and logistics of tourism in these far flung islands. An influx of tourists might help drive down overall costs , but if overdone , it will most likely ruin the pristine islands.

If you compare it to a similar trip to a foreign shore that might rival the beauty , expenses would be quite high for the latter .

[sunilg33]

Information on Lakshadweep is so scarce and distributed on the internet. With so many details you have literally made this thread a handbook for Lakshadweep planning.
You made me start planning for this and thanks a ton for it.

[earthian]

What an absolutely brilliant travelogue. And great pictures. Bookmarked it since Lakshadweep is a place i have been meaning to go.

Seems you had a lot of fun with the top deck lying down with the night sky as the bonus.

[TorqueKnight]

This travelogue is simply gold. I just bookmarked it for planning a vacation to lakshadweep . They say pictures speak a lot and you made me to admit the same. Thanks for sharing

Thanks,
TK

[naveenroy]

Great travelogue - filled with very good information and loads of great pics! That place looks heavenly. Am surely adding LD to my list of places to visit. Thanks for having kindled my interest!

[pyrodrive]

Very informative travelogue, especially of information hard to find otherwise. Hope Lakshadweep can stay pristine unlike the Andamans these days.
I have come close to finalising these islands twice now in the last three years, but each time we ended up vacationing in the Maldives instead. Mainly because the cost difference doesn't work out too much and the luxury offered there cannot be really compared. But your travelogue has made me think again. This jewel in our own country is definitely on the list again.

[alpha1]

Fascinating place and very well detailed travelogue.
I remember about 1-2 years back I was choosing between Lakshdweep, Himalayas and Andaman, however the lack of detailed information and reviews made me strike off Lakshdweep from my list.

However, your thread helps.

One question which I have: what about mobile phone coverage?
When I was in Andaman I faced (blissfully so) total telecom blackout (no signal except BSNL and Airtel I believe, and that too only on Port Blair)

[rst89]

Loved the travelogue.
It has loads of information and pointers to avoid crowded places.

I think the islands are on par with Maldives, they are just promoted less.

[DriveTrain]

Originally Posted by alpha1

One question which I have: what about mobile phone coverage?
When I was in Andaman I faced (blissfully so) total telecom blackout (no signal except BSNL and Airtel I believe, and that too only on Port Blair)

Thanks alpha1, I had covered the topic in my write up. Here is a summary :

BSNL works in the islands , both voice and data are available but you need to be close to a tower to get proper reception. There is probably just one or two towers on an island and since the SPORTS campus are at best scenic locations , you need to move around to get proper signal.

Airtel 4G is available at Kavaratti , Agatti and Bangaram , it is likely that more islands will be covered gradually. At Agatti airport, our phone locked onto a 4G tower but neither voice or data worked. Possibly as the airport was at the extreme end of the island. In Bangaram reception is not very good inside the rooms , but very good at the beach.

Thinnakara does not have cell towers , but since it is just a few kms from Bangaram , both BSNL and Airtel signals can be received with a bit of trial and error. Data works too.

Hence even if you want , it will not be a telecom blackout.

[LonelyPlanet]

If you don’t mind pls share the approx cost breakup of your trip

[gadadhar]

Wonderful snaps, tough to believe most of them have come out of a mobile.

I thought Cab drivers in Kochi are better than in most of our metros (but can't say that about the private bus drivers in Kerala), you probably got both times unlucky.

[BlackPearl]

Don't know how I had missed this thread! Simply amazing pictures. Rated 5 stars and bookmarked for future reference.

[dgoyle]

Simply marvelous! DriveTrain you took the winds out of my sails.

I visited these islands in March 1988 while doing an internship at INHS Sanjeevani. I was sent on an official assignment and traveled by civilian ship (MV Minicoy if my memory serves me right) in uniform. We visited Agathi, Minicoy and two more. At each of these islands, I went ashore, had lunch with the sailors posted on detachment. Little did I know that I would one day again return to these islands for months.
January 1990 I got posted on INS Investigator as Medical Officer. She took us to these islands for many months, at that. I partook the beauty of these islands from the land, sea, under the sea, and air. It was a five-star vacation, if I may say so, courtesy the Indian Navy!
Your travelogue reminded me of all those experiences.
Bangaram was in news those days as the Gandhi family had spent time vacationing there. It was the first time probably. To the best of my knowledge, there were no facilities for tourists in most islands.
I will search and upload photographs, and share my moments with you.
Thank you once again for a beautiful travelogue. a well deserved 5-star rating.