March 28, 2024

Alex o'Loughlin

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Scuba Diving Destinations in India

Netrani Island aka Pigeon Island

Netrani’s clear waters and rich marine make for a great scuba diving experience. Although a tiny island in Arabian Sea, the visibility around Netrani Island is 15-20 meters. Scuba diving is a very new activity here. The diving sites are 10 to 30 meter deep. They house coral reefs on the eastern side of the island and rock walls on the west and north western side of the island. When you are underwater you can expect to see schools of Barracuda, Jacks, Snappers, Red tooth trigger fish, Indian Banner fish, large shark- like Cobia, Groupers, Honeycomb Moray Eels, Puffer fish, Napoleon Wrasse. If scuba diving is not your cup of tea you can snorkel and enjoy the amazing underwater life.

Goa

Goa is an ideal place for people who have just discovered the fun in scuba diving. It is the best place to start diving. Though Goa is well known for its blue waters it doesn’t boast of good visibilities. It might not be the best place for diving but for starters the marine life underneath is great for first time experience. The Grande Island and Sao Jorge Island have varied kinds of dive sites to offer. The shipwrecks to sandy bays, the warm waters of the water and the calm waters make for a great diving experience.

Karwar

Just two hours by car from South Goa, Devbagh is an Island Resort situated in North of Karnataka. Scuba Diving has been introduced at Devbagh Beach Resort in Karwar only from this year (2000) onwards. All one needs to do is speed across by boat from Karwar to reach the Devbagh Beach Resort.

Through scuba diving and snorkeling under the supervision and guidance of instructors visitors get the opportunities to have some live encounters with the marine communities that live beneath the sparkling waters surrounding this secluded ivory beach resort.

Lakshadweep

Lakshadweep tops the list of the best scuba diving destinations in India. Bangaram in Lakshadweep is a favorite among scuba divers. This tear shaped island is the only licensed diving school present in India. This means that amateurs can take formal training in scuba diving and be certified scuba divers. The island of Kadmat has a diving center too. Necessary equipments and training is available if you are keen to learn.

What attracts people from far and wide to Lakshadweep is its underwater life that is unique and comprises of rich and diverse collection of colorful and patterned sea animals. The sea corals ranging from tall sea fans to small hydroids, from dreamily waving sea anemones to glassy jelly fish is a delight to look at while you do some snorkeling. And not just corals but a huge variety of various colorful varieties of fishes can be seen by the diver which will not please him to no end.

Andaman

Andaman is a scuba diver’s paradise. It is popular with tourists as both scuba diving operators are on this island – Dive India and Barefoot Scuba are PADI certified dive centers. They have a number of converted dive boats, provide good equipment and offer training to amateurs and also instructor. The vast diving possibilities around Andaman are vast and the discovered dive sites are amazing to explore. More diving sites are going to be opened soon. At present, Havelock is the main center for diving in the island chain. For seasoned divers there are opportunities to be part of scuba diving expeditions which includes exciting adventures of discovering unexplored sites.