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union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands consists
of 572 islands, islets and rocks, of which only 38 islands
are inhabited. These island form a 700 km stretch from
north to south resembling a broken arc. Situated in
the Bay of Bengal, the island are 1200 km away from
the mainland. The Andaman group of islands consists
of the North, Middle, South, Little Andamans and Ritchies
Archipelago, besides many smaller islands. The
Nicobar group of Islands comprise Great Nicobar, Little
Nicobar, Car nicobar, nancowry, Katchal & Chowra.
Port blair is the headquaters of this Union Territory,
situated in the South Andamans-base to begin one of
the most enchanting holidays. Topographically, the island
at are hilly and abound in evergreen forests with more
than 86% forest cover. The white sandy beaches have
a backdrop of luxuriant greenery. The clear blue water,
enclosec by coral reefs, contain an underworld full
of fishes of all possible varieties and myriad other
marine animals. Given their pristine and unpolluted
beauty, a visitor is bound to fall in love with the
Andaman & Nicobar islands. Lately, the administration
has undertaken extensive publicity campaigns of familiarise
the masses with the hitherto unexplored islands. Ships
sail from Madras and Calcutta every 10 days and from
Visakhapatnam once in 3 months. Efforts to improve
facilities for tourists are not only being made by the
administration, but the Ministry of tourism. Government
of India, is also taking considerable interest in the
same. Presently, accommodation worth only 2,000 beds
are available, combining both the government and the
private sectors-mainly in Port Blair.
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