The rich sea life in India offers an array of opportunities for scuba diving and snorkelling. The coastal water surrounding the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, off the east side of the Indian Peninsular in the Bay of Bengal, is home to one of the richest coral eco-systems in the world. The speciality about the coral reefs, the underwater formations and the marine life of these islands, is that they are untarnished by human activities. The best season for scuba diving and snorkelling here is from December to April. Most of the Andaman and Nicobar islands are inaccessible and foreign tourists require special permits to enter these islands. It is therefore advisable to carry a few extra passport photographs, as you would need to submit these to the tourist authorities on arrival, for your permit to visit the islands.
On the other side of the Indian Peninsular, in the Arabian Sea, are the Lakshadweep Islands. The waters of Lakshadweep Islands are also completely untouched and pure, some even unexplored. The islands are located some 400 km (250 mi) off the coast of Kerala and can be reached by a 20 hour sea journey from Cohin or by plane to Agatti Island also from Cohin or from Mumbay via Bangalore. Of the ten inhabited islands out of a total of 36 coral islands, only two, Bangaram and Kadmat, are open to foreigners and there are dive centers on both these islands. Kadmat is more isolated than Bangaram and can be reached by speedboat from the airport in one to two hours, and in three and a half hours by the inter-island boat. There is only one resort at the Lakshadweep Islands: the Kadmat Island Beach Resort. Be aware that the dive centers are closed during the monsoons (May to September) and also be prepared that a visit to Lakshadweeb Islands requires a lot of paperwork, so plan your trip well in advance.
The third of the major diving destination is Goa. The marine life in Goa is similar to that found in the Maldives. The presence of wrecks of Spanish and Portugese galleons as well as World War II ships make the fish life profilic. Much of the local diving is done around the Grande Island and at sites near this island. Angria Bank some 200 km (120 mi) from the coast of Goa can be reached in about 4 hours in a high speed boat and is a world class dive site. This vast underwater landmass about half the size of the state of Goa offers an amazing wealth of coral and fish.
There are numerous other easily accessible scuba diving and snorkelling sites in India. One of these diving destinations worth mentioning is Devbagh near Karwar Beach in the state of Karnataka, which has eight diving sites on islands like Kumaragahr, Anjudeep and Sannyasi, that surround Devbag.
