Rangat - Andaman Islands

Rangat

Eco-Tourism Destination

Rangat is a 1070 sq. km. large island in Middle Andaman with pristine beaches, waterfalls, and interesting islands. This island is spread across 75 census villages and 14 gram panchayats. The population is primarily made up of people from Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Fisheries and cultivation are the two primary occupations of people in this island.

How to Reach ?

Rangat (170 Kms. by road and 90 Kms by sea from Port Blair)

Entry into Rangat is from Port Blair and by ferries from Havelock, Neil and Long Island. Therefore, tourists have to enter Andamans through Port Blair and travel to Rangat by road or sea.

By Speed Boats

The island is 50 nautical miles by sea from Port Blair. Boats are available for 4-5 days in a week. The travel time is about 4-5 hours.

By Bus

Morning bus services are available between Port Blair and Rangat. The travel time is about 6-7 hours. Road to Rangat from Port Blair passes through Jarawa reserves on the west coasts of South and Middle Andaman.

Where to Stay ?

Hawksbill Nest run by the Directorate of Tourism at Cutbert Bay provides comfortable accommodation. A PWD guest house and few private hotels are also available.

Amkunj Beach
Aamkunj beach is located at a distance of about 08 kms from Rangat towards Mayabunder and about one km. from the Nimbutala helipad. Amkunj Bay beach is another sandy beach on the way to Cutbert Bay. This beach, barely 100 mts from the main road i.e. ATR, is ideal for swimming, sun bathing and relaxation. This beach, developed in a unique way with the help of eco-friendly structures, has a couple of eco-huts and groves named after locally found flora (casurina, jamun, pandanus). The eco-friendly beach facilities such as log sofas, log tepoys, indeed novel and innovative ideas, provides a perfect place for recreation to the people of Rangat and the adjoining villages.

Lakshmanpur Beach-I & II
Moricedera is an ideal location for picnic in a natural environment of sea on one side and lush green forest on the other side. It is located along the ATR at a distance of 12 kms from Rangat towards Mayabunder. Eco-friendly beach furniture's, sea facing sit out areas and their proximity to sea makes it an ideal location to relax. A walkway in between Twin rocks (a unique rock formation) leads to a spectacular horizon view point which motivates everyone to feel “sky is the limit”. A fresh water stream located at this side is not only perennial but also scenic. It serves as natural swimming pool for the visitors.

Dhanninallah Mangrove Nature Walk Way
Dhaninallah Mangrove Nature Walk is located at a distance of 20 Kms. from Rangat adjacent to ATR. It is a wooden boardwalk meandering through mangrove creek for a distance of 713 mtrs. It is the longest walkway of its kind in the whole country. This place Dhaninallah is named after a mangrove associate locally called as Dhanipatti. This Walkway leads to a very beautiful long beach called as Dhaninallah beach, which is known for turtle nesting.
How to reach : Entry to Dhaninallah mangrove walkway is from the ATR at Betapur and is about 20 kms from Rangat towards Mayabunder. This boardwalk is completely an eco-friendly structure constructed departmentally using rejected teak logs. This walkway provides an unique opportunity to witness diverse mangrove eco-system found in Andamans in a single place. This long board walk has halt at intervals, for the visitors to sit & enjoy the gift of nature from close quarters. These halts are named after the commonly found birds of this locality for generating awareness on wildlife. An eco-hut at the midway of the boardwalk is named after the most frequented sea turtle of the Dhaninallah beach (the beach to which this walkway leads to) i.e. Olive Ridley. This is an ideal location for nature awareness camps. The walkway leads to a beautiful and long beach known as Dhaninallah beach. One can see a hatchery for sea turtles, maintained by the Wildlife Officials as an conservation effort. A nature trail from the Walkway leads to the eco-friendly beach facilities which include a tree top hut, a couple of eco-huts, sit-out areas, changing rooms and toilet facilities. One can have a fantastic view of the Cutbert Bay Wildlife Sanctuary from the tree top hut. The beach has been adequately furnished with eco-friendly log sofas and log teapoys for the convenience of the visitors. Where to stay : Hawksbill Nest, Cutbert Bay, a guest house run by tourism department is located at a distance of 2 kms from entry point of Dhanninallah walkway.

Yerrata Mangrove Park and Yerrata Creek
Yerrata is located at a distance of 8 kms from Rangat along with luxuriant mangrove creeks. Yerrata is having a jetty from where ferry is operated to Long Island. Yerrata, which is well connected by road has breath-taking scenic beauty of various species of mangroves and is an ideal location to learn about diverse variety of mangroves. As a step towards creating awareness among general public about mangroves, department of Environment and Forests has established a Mangrove Interpretation Centre which has attractive display panels depicting various species of mangroves found in these islands. A mangrove view watch tower is an unique structure of its kind which provides an opportunity to have a panoramic view of mangroves and adjacent forest. This is the only such tower in whole of A & N Islands to view mangroves. The height of the watch tower is 13 mtrs. The Department of Environment and Forests has developed a Mangrove beach trail having 300 mtrs. stretch of bench walk passing through the natural mangrove forest which is an important tourist attraction. The bench-walk gives the visitors a fantastic feel of mangroves.

Cutbert Bay Beach
Cutbert Bay Beach is located at a distance of 12 km. from Rangat. This lengthy beach with a tropical forest bordering is famous for turtle nesting in season. One can view the turtle nesting during December-February. Hawksbill Nest, a Guest House, run by the Tourism Department, near Cutbert Bay beach offers accommodation. The guest house is enroute to Mayabunder and Diglipur.

Panchavati Hills
Panchavati Hills has a beautiful, gentle waterfall. The agricultural farm en-route, housing a rich bank of vegetation, is of interest to botany enthusiasts.