Havelock Island, Andaman & Nicobar Island, India

Elephants are used to entertain tourists on some beaches at Havelock Island, Andaman Islands, India.

Havelock Island, with an area of 113.93 km2, is the largest of the islands that comprise Ritchie's Archipelago, a chain of islands to the east of Great Andaman in the Andaman Islands. Havelock is situated 57 km north east of the capital city Port Blair. The population numbered 5,354 as of the 2001 census.

Overview
The island is named after a British General, Henry Havelock who served in India. The island's current population consists of mainly Bengali settlers. Many of these settlers have Bangladeshi origin as these people were given settlement by the Indian government after the 1971 war between India and Pakistan.

Kala Patthar Beach
It is one of the few places that the administration of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India has permitted and encouraged development of tourism, with a focus on promoting eco-tourism.

Havelock Island avoided much of the devastation by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and its resulting tsunami, and there were no documented casualties.

Beach No. 7 on the western coast, better known as "Radha Nagar" Beach, is one of the most popular beaches on Havelock and was named "Best Beach in Asia" by Time in 2004. Other notable beaches include Elephant Beach on the northwest coast and Vijaynagar Beach (No. 5), Beach No. 3 and Beach No. 1 on the east coast. Kalapathar is another famous beach for a pit stop.

One can go snorkeling at Elephant Beach at Havelock Island. It is one of the most preferred snorkeling destinations after Jolly Bouy island in Port Blair.

Havelock Island has become a destination for honeymooners. The island has a lot of resorts by the beach to cater to the tourist, one of the most famous being the Symphony Palms Beach Resort located at Govindnagar Beach, Sea Shell Resort and Munjoh Ocean resort.

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