Kavaratti

Tiny Lakshadweep capital island ringed by lagoons, mosques, and carved driftwood details.

Kavaratti is the administrative capital of Lakshadweep, India's smallest union territory -- a scattering of coral islands in the Arabian Sea about 400 km off the Kerala coast. The island is small enough to walk across in an hour, fringed by white sand and shallow turquoise lagoons.

The island's history goes back centuries. Around the 7th century, a Muslim saint was shipwrecked on nearby Amini, and the islanders eventually converted to Islam. Kavaratti is dotted with 52 mosques, the most striking being the Ujra Mosque. Its entrance is a marvel of carved driftwood -- flowing lines, sinuous scrolls and floral pillars, all shaped from timber washed ashore. A well in the mosque grounds is said to have curative powers.

Beyond the mosques, the Kavaratti Aquarium displays the reef's remarkable marine life. The real draw is the water: swimming, snorkelling, kayaking and sailing are all available on the lagoon, and the coral reefs just offshore are among the best-preserved in India. Permits are required for all visitors to Lakshadweep and are arranged through tour operators or the Lakshadweep tourism office in Kochi.

Guide

Getting There

Getting to Kavaratti requires advance planning. The island is accessible by air from Kochi (Cochin) on the Kerala coast — Agatti Airport, on a nearby island, is the only airport in Lakshadweep, and from there a helicopter or speedboat transfers passengers to Kavaratti. Flight schedules are limited and tickets sell out quickly in peak season.

The alternative is the government-operated ship service from Kochi, which takes 14–20 hours depending on the vessel and covers several islands. The ships are functional rather than comfortable, and the crossing can be rough during the monsoon season. However, the sea journey gives a genuine sense of the remoteness of the archipelago.

All visitors to Lakshadweep require a permit, obtained through the Lakshadweep Tourism office in Kochi or through an approved tour operator. Foreign nationals face additional restrictions on where they can go within the territory. Accommodation must be booked in advance, as the island has limited capacity: the main options are the government guesthouses and the Bangaram Island Resort (on a nearby island), which is the only private resort in Lakshadweep.

Guide

Things to Do

Kavaratti is a small island, and its attractions reflect that: the water is the main event, with snorkelling and diving over coral reefs that rank among India's finest. On land, the Ujra Mosque with its remarkable carved driftwood entrance is the most architecturally significant building in Lakshadweep, and the Kavaratti Aquarium gives a sense of the reef ecosystem without getting wet.

The island's real pleasures are unstructured: walking the beach in the early morning before the heat builds, watching fishing boats land their catch, and finding a patch of shallow lagoon water to yourself.