bangaram island

the island was once a well visited international tourist destination because of previously operated Casino (now closed). but one can see the old infrastructure there. as entry to lakshadweep is only by permit we have booked our trip to Bangaram and Tinkara island by Sports (Lakshadweep tourism deptt.) accommodation was made in Non AC tents which were a little HOT during mid day but were quite comfortable in evening and night. food served commonly to all guests at beach side cafeteria. overall place is calm and beautiful with no one to disturb your privacy. the staff is very nice and good people. Tinkara island is having one of the best beach in Lakshadweep islands

One of the most exotic island from Lakshadweep, you can only reach it by water ways on the way you can enjoy fishing...turtle watching etc. It is beautiful to see how sea changes colors on your way from agatti to bangaram, simply spectacular. Carry some food with you but please do not litter. Island is green and clean and its all beautiful and breathtaking.

First, thanks to those who'd gone before since we benefited from your suffering. We were lucky in negotiating a largely pain-free 4 nights on Tinnakara. The good points were unequalled anywhere. Dive visibility over 20m, near-new gear and skilled divemasters. We saw only 2 of the 7 sites, probably because we'd misplaced an Advanced cert card and were kept below 19m. Minimal tidal difference led to no current issues. The lagoon snorkelling is superb, even if the reef is far from shore. Food was consistently good, if a little repetitive. Only noticed a few mosquitos, and the genny ran for most hours so they could be cleared by the pedestal fans. The bad is unbelievably so. There's one launch for transfers so if it's elsewhere, the pictured fishing boat is used. 20min from Agatti becomes 105min of sun, sucking in fumes from that exhaust in front of passengers. SPORTS bully you at booking time to take in Kadmat, 10 times further away. Fight back, or go elsewhere. All activities require cash, and at 3000rup per dive, I'd like a little more services- a video, fish ID book etc.

It was hell getting to Bangaram and the conditions are Spartan, but it was well worth it. SPORTS, the agency in charge, is inefficient as is Air India, the only airline at this point that flies to Lakshadweep. We ended up booking with Mint Valley travel agency, which came through, though the permit for foreigners only being issued three days before flying is tense-making. Be persistent as from late November the website said bookings were closed, but the place was empty in mid-December. Similarly, we met a mother and son on the flight out. They'd left dad behind as Air India told them the flight was full. She counted 19 empty seats, about half the small plane. On Bangaram the tents are old, minimally furnished, scorching during the day, and the electricity only runs from 7pm to 7am, so you can't use the fans. It's best to sit under the shade near the restaurant or snorkel, as we did. As others have mentioned, the "fresh" water comes from a shallow well and smells alarmingly of sulphur. On the good side, the staff are friendly and the south Indian food with a nod to north Indian, is delicious and plentiful. There are few mosquitos.Then there is the island. If you've never been on an atoll before, it means there is a huge circular barrier reef enclosing in this case Bangaram, Thinnnakara and Parali. The water within the reef is mostly like an endless swimming pool of crystal clear water that moves from ankle to chest height, depending on the tide. The shifting colours are amazing. The visibility was not as good as the Great Barrier Reef or islands like Redang or Similan, but the coral gardens are close to the shore and surprisingly intact. Snorkelling we saw lots of beautiful fish, sea horses and numerous turtles. And you have the place almost to yourself.

Me and my friend had planned for a 7 day dive trip to Lakshadweep (for at least 8 dives). After months of torture, we managed to get the permit. We stayed at Thinnakara and Kadmat.Thinnkara and Bangaram are 2 islands in the same Lagoon. Thinnakara is a really small island, you can go around the island with in 2 hours. Bangaram is much bigger.Pros:1. You'll see turtles not too far away from the shore. We saw more than 102. The view is superb. The lagoon's are amazing, you'd never imaging finding such a place in INDIA.Cons:1. The tents are substandard and the beds are awful. Take your own sheets.2. They serve pretty much the same food everyday. Quality is below par. 3. Difficult to get any snacks in between meals. Take your own snacks.4. They have a dive shop but the instructor was not there, so we could do nothing. Confirm if the instructor is there and when they did diving recently (turns out, they had no dive in the recent months)5. Trip from Bangaram to Agatti is a 45 mins boat ride (if the weather is good). Their speed boat was not working, so they sent us in a fisherman boat, about 12 people and 4 of them did not have life jackets.6. They don't really care for your plan, you will be moved about on the availability of boats.Over all, don't go with a high expectation and with a plan. You will thoroughly enjoy it. Also, preferably, move to agatti a day before you depart. If on the day you leave, the weather is bad; you will be stuck on that island.

I went to Lakshawdeep Islands with my parents and siblings to spend a vacation here for 4 days!This could be undoubtedly India's best sea resort which offers an unique experience.To reach there, we took an Air India flight from Cochin on a small aircraft that takes 2 hours to touch down at the Agatti airport. A small runway awaits you and the pilot needs to have experience to land you safely on land or you get to have a bath in the Indian Ocean!!Anyways once we were landed, people from the Bangaram Resort were there to receive us on their boat. We took 2 hours on the Diesel engined boat to reach Bangaram Island which is 8 km from Agatti. On reaching the island, which is a beautiful sight to see as its approach is through a lovely lagoon, we were greeted by the Manager with welcome drinks. Thereafter, after check in, the rooms are pretty neat, we took a stroll on the island. This place is not an usual resort. No TV, no newspapers, no internet, no electricity (the resort provides electricity through its own genset). The place offers boat rides, scuba diving and other water sports at a cost.The food is awesome mainly consisting of freshly caught sea fishes, squids, octopus, shark meat and other items which are shipped to the resort from Kochi. The back side of the island has very rough waters and the staff of the resort catch the eating eats from this area and this goes straight to the kitchen!This resort is a divine spot on earth and one can easily unwind and relax on this island for a week. Alcohol is served at the resort bar and shack.Rooms are provided with a refrigerator and a minibar consisting of beer makes the stay all the more interesting! But mind you! To visit this place, one must take a permit from the Indian authorities in Cochi without which you cannot visit Agatti. So if you plan to visit this Union Territory of India, a special permit is required over and above your Indian visa. Do visit Lakshadweep. You will love it!

Beauiful. Fantastic. Out of the world. The fact the Bangaram is the only island in Laskadweep with resorts makes it a truly virgin island, with immaculate beaches, crystal clear water and privacy that very few places in the world can now offer. If you wish to walk on the beach with your footprints being the only ones, you can. The other islands in Lakshadweep are beautiful too, but since this is uninhabited, it means that you wouldnt find litter on the beach or in the island, you wouldn' find fishing boats hampering the view of the otherwise immaculate horizon and you wouldn't have to give up on your privacy.The lagoon in Bangaram is shared by its sister island Thinakkara. Both Bangaram and Thinakkara have resorts owned by SPORT (a government body). The tents have an amazing location right on the beach and have basic facilities: bed, bathroom, a restaurant nearby and most of the water sports (kayaking, snorkelling, scuba diving etc.). However, these are not 5 star properties so dont go looking for fancy facilities. If I were to select where to stay between Bangaram and Thinnakara, I would be inclined to tilt towards Thinakkara for a couple of reasons. Firstly the resort in Thinakkara cost INR 8,000 whereas that in Bangaram cost INR 10,000. The diraction of the wind means that the resorts in Thinnakara would always have a cool breeze, whereas the tents in Bangaram are cut of from the breeze by the island behind it. The beach in Thinakkara is gradually sloping towards the lagoon, whereas in Bangaram, one of the beaches towards the lagoon has a sudden drop. This can be slighlty dangerous for someone who is not adept at swimming. However in either case, I would strongly suggest to buy your own snorkelling kit before you arrive to the island as renting out the equipment would be slightly more expensive (around INR 600-1000/day). Also, you would be more comfortable with your own kit and there would not be an availability issue. Both Thinnakara and Bangaram have tremendous opportunities to just walk out in the sea and start snorkelling. Be prepared to see large turtles and a myriad of fishes and corals. Bangaram has another private resort called the Bangaram Beach Island Resort. However this is temporarily shut down due to government ineptitude and bearocratic non-sense. This is quite dissapointing since the island has tremendous potential for tourism. This is only one of 3 other islands where non-Indians are allowed. Also, this is the only island where alcohol is legal. Since the only resort open as of now is the SPORt resort which doesnt have a bar, it means that there is no alcohol on the only island where it is legal to serve it. Bangaram has tremendous scuba-diving spots all around the island where you can spot large turtles, sharks, sting rays amongst a plethora of other marine lives. It is completely safe and an absolute must according to me. If you want suggestions on the best dive operator, please feel free to send me a personal message. The island is 30 mins away from Agatti, which has the airport. A return boat ride would cost you around INR 1,500. Other nearby islands are Thinnakra, Parali 1 and Parali 2. The biggest issue in reaching Lakshadweep, however, is obtaining a permit. As of now, the easiest way to obtain a permit is to either book through SPORT or to be a government employee/relative of a government employee. This has discouraged private tourism in Lakshadweep where most of the private resorts are currently closed. Laslty, the island is very conservative and the locals would not encourage girls to wear shorts/or even three-fourths. Infact, when we were returning from one of our scuba expedetions by boat, one of the boat crew members actually indicated to one of the girls to wear full trousers and a sleeved tshirt. Bikini's, any form of nudity, or any form of showing excessive "skin" would be deeply discouraged by the locals.Get sun-tan/coconut oil/mosquito repellant/sun glasses and your permit. Enjoy this little bit of heaven on earth. Feel free to message me personally if trip advisor allows that for more info.

Where---it is 45 minutes off the agatti port....independent island which is in inhabited...Accomodation----only available accommodation is tents which are run by SPORTS..no other resort exists on the islandIt is very poorly maintained...and actually it kills your tripVery unfortunate that an island which is more beautiful than Hawaii//Mauritius//Maldives//Madagascar.....does not HV accommodation....Hope DAT accommodation is made early.....No scuba on the island...but limited water sports available....Pls plan only a day trip....

Lakshadweep islands One of the last places on earth that has not yet been exploited and commercialized.Being a beach lover, we were very much looking forward to discovering these islands. The fact that only 4 out of 11 inhabited Lakshadweep islands are open to foreign tourists also adds to the intrigue and charm of this place.Everyone going to these islands needs a permit that can be obtained by SPORTS. It seems that one needs 2 months advance planning and booking. We opted for Bangaram island for a 3 night stay.Upon arrival at Agatti airport and approximately 25 passport and permit checks later, we got on a 'speedboat' to take us to Bangaram. It was more like an old fishing boat than a speed boat. The journey took 1h30 minutes. Eventhough the distance between Agatti and Bangaram is just 10 kms. :-)Once we arrived on Bangaram, we were escorted to our non A/C 'tent'. The tent is very basic...2 twin beds, a small bathroom at the back of it and a shower that drip drops water. The island has beautiful shades of turquoise/emerald green colour, but the beach at Bangaram is a bit disappointing since the patch of sand is interrupted by a patch of grass. On low tide it is ok...but high tide eats up the beach even more. Due to the lake found in the middle of the island, there are tons of mosquitoes around at night.By the second day, we were curious to visit Thinnikara which is the island directly facing Bangaram that also had some tents set up on what looked like a much bigger sandy white beach. We decided to take the boat ride that covered Parveli 1 and 2 (uninhabited islands nearby) as well as Thinnikara. The corals are unspoiled and the water is an amazing colour.Once we reached Thinnikara, we knew immediately that this was exactly what we were looking for in terms of beaches. The beach here is large white fine sand and is just spectacular!!! We asked the man running this island if we could transfer from Bangaram to Thinnikara and he was very happy to accommodate us. So we immediately took the small fishing boat back to Bangaram, packed in 10 minutes, and off we were back to Thinnikara. The tent set up is exactly the same on Thinnikara as it is on Bangaram. There was a total of 7 tents (all the same) set up along the beach. Each tent accommodates 2 persons. The bathroom is exactly the same too. The only downside when comparing Bangaram to Thinnikara is that Thinnikara shower water smelled much worse than the shower at Bangaram. No hot water, but you don't really need it. No mosquitoes, or at least a lot less due to the absence of a marshland in the middle of the island.The best part about Thinnikara is that you have sunset directly in front of you as opposed to having the sunset behind you like on Banagaram (you get sunrise if you wake up early enough on Bangaram)On days 2 and 3 we were literally the only persons on Thinnikara. Our own private island :-) (apart from staff). We walked around the island (it takes about 50 minutes with a brisk pace)...and also ventured out on the various sand bars found at the tip of the island. The emotion is overwhelming.We saw tons of turtles, sting rays, Nemos everyday.Thinnikara is paradise on earth. The water, the corals, the turtles and all the unspoiled nature of it is what will stay for a long time in your memory.It is true that it is very basic accommodations, with basic food...but the staff is lovely (all young boys), and willing to help out with whatever request, obviously within their very limited knowledge of English language. It is sheer bliss well worth a 3 night stay.To all foreign tourists that have non-Indian cell phones: Please note that your cell phone will not take on the island. Bangaram has no cell phone reception, obviously no wifi, and no electricity between 7:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.Thinnikara, manages to sometimes get a cell phone signal that hardly ever works, no wifi and also no electricity during the times mentioned above. If you can handle being disconnected from the world and appreciate the beauty of such places...this is definitely for you.If you can rough out the basic camping conditions (nothing remotely close to 'glam-ping' on these islands!), then this place is really worth the visit...You will be one of a few hundred travelers that ventures out annually to this part of the world. It's probably the basic conditions that will make you dream to go back one day.

Bangaram island is a wonderful place.quiet,beautiful lagoon.we did snorkeling.and it was a nice experience.tents are ok to live but very hot during day time.No mobile connectivity in day time.Sea life is excellentFood is average since they have limited resources locally.Staff is very cooperativeOverall it is memorable experience.and we enjoyed it a lot

No doubt the island is beautiful.The emerald coloured water was a feast for the eyes but the administration made sure that we had an uncomfortable stay in a dirty tent where you can not enter during the day time as the tents get very hot. They could have put the tents under some shade.The toilets are so small that you won't feel like entering. The tap water stinks. I failed to understand why do they charge so much for such disgusting accommodation. The food was again another sour point. I doubt if they have appointed proper cooks as the food tasted horrible. However the staff were warm and friendly. The place is suitable only for those who are interested in water sports but not for people who are not looking for adventure. So the first day was very very disappointing but somehow I liked the place on the second day and the credit goes only to nature. When we booked the place we were told that the transfer from Agatti to Bangaram would be by speed boat. But we were ferried by ordinary motorised boat without any cover which took one hour and forty five minutes to reach. And I was scared as the ride was not smooth. Water entered into the baggage and clothes got wet. But inspite of the huge expenditure and unsatisfactory service I still loved the place though I don't think I will ever go back there for a second time.

We visited Thinnakara Island (next to Bangaram Island) in October 2014. We were really amazed by the beauty of the Island. Such blue waters, white beach and sea turtles swimming around the Island. Such a special feeling to see them so near by. The tents in which we stayed were, for a tent, really comfortable. Only the toilet/shower cabin was really small, which might be the only negative, however, on the other hand, to have a western toilet and a shower on an uninhabited Island is quit special anyway. The staff was very friendly and provided 3 meals a day which were tasty. If you eat fish they will catch fresh fish for you and prepare it for lunch and dinner. We did a snorkling trip to a neary ship wreckage which was a nice one. We saw some beautiful fish and also some nemo fish. The downside is that the staff is unaware of the damage they do to the corals. They stand on it and touch it all the time. I am sure they do not want to do any harm to the Coral, I guess they are really unaware of the consequences. Hopefully this will change in the future. One more downside to Lakshadweep in general, not for Thinnakara, is that the boat schedule is REALLY unreliable. Our schedule was to go to Thinnakara on Saturday, then go to Kadmat on Monday and go back to Agatti for our flight on Friday morning. In the end, we waited all Monday for the boat to come, which never arrived, we then left on Tuesday to Kadmat, where we were told that we had to leave to Agatti on Thursday already and spend our last day on Agatti, where there are no activities for tourists. We really really loved our stay at Lakshadweep and I am happy to say I have been there. The beauty of the beach and the ocean is unbelievable. But, you should be aware that there are no restaurants, no other facilities and that your schedule can change any time.

All the ticketing, Resort and food is managed by Laccadive Tourism Authority--Even Indian citizens need a permit--Though easy to obtainPeace loving people-- NO ALCOHOL--Excellent fresh Sea FoodWe stayed in Bangaram, Tinnakara Islands--Literally we were only 5-6 Folks-- Tents on the seashore-- Snorkelling, Glass Bottom Boats, Scuba Diving et all Candle light Dinner on the Sea Shore We went criscrossing across the Islands--Hardly anybody aroudVERY VERY ENJOYABLE

Very few in India know about this place. An island consisting of a resort in the middle of the Arabian Sea, 8km from Agati airport. I had been here 4 years ago but placing a review now.It's an excellent place to be. Awesome food mainly seafood which is excellently made by the chefs.The rooms are ok considering there is no electricity supply on the island, so the resort is provided electricity by its own generator which goes on and on. Don't expect air conditioners, newspapers and TV in your room. It's a different experience for nature lovers. The resort provides water entertainment facilities like water scooters, snorkelling, motor boat rides, diving classes. A fantastic place to go, as the resort's approach consists of a beautiful blue lagoon. Super experience! Must visit : my recommendation

Travelling to Bangaram island has been the most enjoyable day of our trip - we hired a diesel fishing boat from Agatti. There were 4 crew members. my 4yo enjoyed the trip a LOT as he got to drive the boat for couple of times, row one of the smaller boats etc. The sea was a bit rough that day - so the first half hr of the trip - it was quite a bit of adrenaline rush. but then we got used to it... went to one of the other islands for lunch (the crew made fish curry with the ones we just bought) and on the way back, stopped at bangaram. Bangaram isn't much of an island but has about 8 tents run by the govt which you can stay in and couple of houses where the staff usually stays - that's about it. But the water is crystal clear, turquoise and overall we had quite a good time there. There were lot of marine life, turtles, and guess what ? We even saw dolphins !!! :