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Stunning beaches, aquamarine coral lagoons, lush green rainforest, active volcanoes, swimming elephants and giant fish. Experience the unexplored beauty of these islands at the Barefoot Group's first luxury eco-retreat, ‘Barefoot at Havelock’, epitomising eco-friendly tourism at its best. Located exclusively on what TIME Magazine rated as the best beach in Asia on Havelock Island in the Bay of Bengal, the resort is set in tropical rainforest and fruit trees behind a pristine 2 km stretch of white sand at the quirkily named Beach No. 7 on Havelock Island. Conde Nast Traveler USA edition in September 2007 stated that the beach is one of the 30 best beaches in the world.
The resort comprises ten spacious Nicobari cottages and eight Anadaman Villas. All of the environmentally sensitive the accommodation is beautifully designed and sheltered in lush tropical foliage, fostering the concepts of nature and privacy. The Barefoot philosophy propagates the use of only natural indigenous materials in the living and recreational spaces and accordingly, the rooms have walls made from bamboo or wood, roofs from thatch and floors of hard wood. The spacious interiors are aesthetically simple. The air-conditioned Villas include large windows, skylight shower and an open space terrace. All cottages and villas are raised off the ground in keeping with the low impact footprint. Eight additional luxury Nicobari Villas will open in December 2008.
Savour the delicious vegetarian and seafood dishes at the resort’s main restaurant. Apart from Continental and Indian food, one can also choose from the set menu or dine à la carte. A choice of spirits and a small selection of Indian wines enhance your meal. All vegetables are organically grown and fertiliser free, sea food is fresh from the sea.
The Lounge, furnished in the Indian and Oriental style, with divans and bolsters, low-level tables and aromatic candles, it is a great place to sit back, relax and mingle with other guests. Alternatively, one can have a drink, breathe in the sea air and listen to one of the finest collections of jazz and lounge music to be found anywhere in the Andaman Islands.
The Andaman Islands are considered the final undiscovered frontier for scuba diving and the waters around Havelock Island are pristine and unexplored. The diving is exciting - with colourful reef fish, sea turtles, the occasional dugong and plenty of coral.
Barefoot Scuba, the resort’s full-service dive centre offers PADI dive courses and recreational dive trips in and around Havelock. Dive trips further a field can be organised with a little advance planning.The dive centre has state-of-the-art equipment and is operated by European dive instructors.
Havelock Island is about 3 hours north-east of Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman Islands, which is easily accessible by air or sea. Fly direct from Europe to Chennai or Kolkata in India and then take one of the daily domestic flights from these cities to Port Blair (about 2 hrs) from where the Barefoot boat will transfer you directly to Beach No. 7 on Havelock Island. Ships are also available to travel from Chennai and Kolkota to Port Blair. (2-3 days) from where the daily ferry can take you to Havelock Island in a couple of hours.
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