It's recorded that Marco Polo was the first official visitor to the beautiful Andaman and Nicobar islands, a tropical archipelago of 572 islands. 

Isolated in the Indian Ocean and little known in the western world, these islands (a territory of India) are covered by tropical rain forests and only a handful of them are inhabited. 

Historically, farming and fishing were (and are) the main revenue sources here, however, increased tourism (especially from scuba divers and beach lovers) are providing another source of much-needed income. 

Note that travel to the Nicobar Islands is restricted, and only Indian nationals engaged in research may visit. Some exceptions are made for tourists with special permits. 

Fast Facts

• Name: Andaman and Nicobar Islands; a territory of India since 1947
• Capital City: Port Blair (100,186 pop.)
• Population: 379,944 (2010 est.)
• World Populations (all countries)
• Currency: Indian Rupee (INR) 
  (conversion rates)

   
  20 Indian Rupees

• Language: Bengali (32.6%), Hindi (25.95%), Tamil including Sri Lankan Tamils (17.84%), Nicobarese and Telugu (18.93%) 
• Largest Cities: (by population) Port Blair
• National Day: January 17
• Religion: Hinduism (67%), Christian, Muslim, Sikh

Flags

As a territory of India, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands fly the national flag of India. 

The India flag was officially adopted on July 22, 1947, as the Indian subcontinent divided into India and Pakistan. 

The orange represents courage and sacrifice, green symbolizes faith and chivalry, and white idealizes peace and truth. The Buddhist spinning wheel (Chakra) is centered. 

Larger India flag 

Geo. Stats

• Coastline: 1,219 miles (1,962 km)
• Land Area: 
  (land) 3,184 sq miles (8,249 sq km) 
  (water) 0 sq miles (0 sq km) 
  (TOTAL) 3,184 sq miles (8,249 sq km) 

  To convert sq km (kilometers) to sq mi (miles)
  use our converter

• Land Area: (all countries)
• Latitude & Longitude: (see map)
  Port Blair: (capital city) 11° 40' N, 92° 44' E
  Kolkata: 22° 34' N, 88° 21' E
  Mumbai: 19° 4' N, 72° 52' E
• Horizontal Width: unknown
• Vertical Length: unknown

  Note: Lengths and widths are point-to-point, straight-line measurements from a Mercator map projection, and will vary some using other map projections

• Geographic Center: unknown
• Highest Point: Saddle Peak 2,395 ft. (730 m)
• Lowest Point: Indian Ocean 0 m

Geography

Located in the Indian Ocean, between India and Burma (Myanmar), the Andaman and Nicobar Islands are the tops of an Indian Ocean mountain range, and most of them are hilly, with heavy rain forests. 

Links

• Andaman Tours and more
• Andaman Tourism
• India Photos at TrekEarth.com
• Island Details and Pictures

Maps

• Andaman and Nicobar (large color) Map
• Andaman and Nicobar Outline Map
• Andaman and Nicobar CIA version
• Andaman and Nicobar detailed map
• India Map (large color)
• India Outline Map
• India CIA version
• Tsunami Map (December 2004)

Travel Info.

Weather

During the monsoon months (May - September) and (November - mid-December), heavy to moderate rain can be expected. 

High temperatures throughout the year average near 87°F (31°C), while lows are near 73°F (23º C).