Scuba Diving in India
Diving Locations in India
Considering, the more than 7000 KM long coastline that the country boasts of, Scuba Diving in India is still a comparatively unexplored activity for its one billion plus population.
Surrounded by the Arabian Sea on the west, Indian Ocean in the south and Bay of Bengal in the east, India gets a diverse coastline on the mainland. The two archipelagos, Lakshadweep islands off the west coast in Arabian Sea and Andaman & Nicobar Islands off the east coast in Bay of Bengal add on to the pristine tropical beaches for India. (Yes, Andaman islands in Andaman sea, nearer to Thailand and Myanmar are part of India, surprise!!!!)
With such a vast expanse to dive, divers in India can be always spoilt for choices. Different areas, at different time of the year, for different seasons, bring in diverse conditions to witness the underwater magic.
To zero-in on the right dive site one can consider categorising their search in following four major regions.
- Mainland Diving
- o West Coast Diving
- o East Coast Diving
- Lakshadweep Islands Diving
- Andaman & Nicobar Islands Diving
Over the past decade many hotspots have come up in these regions and have their high season or low season as per the conditions.
Almost all the regions must respect the Southwest Monsoon rainy season, between mid-May to mid-September, every year. Exception to that is some places on the mainland East Coast, which experience rough conditions during Northeast Monsoon rains - monsoon withdrawals from India.
Lakshadweep and West Coast have very strong winds once the Monsoon sets in. Due to that, almost all the in-water activities are stopped or not allowed between mid-May to mid-September period. Even the fishermen do not venture into the Arabian Sea during this period. This has been followed since the beginning and the locals even celebrate the end of rough seasons with a festival (full moon during August end or September beginning) as per local calendar.
Andaman & Nicobar Islands also have the same schedule, except that instead of completely closing, it’s a low season there. Dive shops are allowed to operate during this period by considering every day forecast and alerts. So, someone having the luxury of spare days in their vacation and love rainy tropical green forests, can consider this time of the year for extended scuba vacation. Not to mention, one can get one-on-one attention from the dive shops during this period with off-season discounts.
East coast of mainland diving gets to have different weather schedule due to the mountain ranges blocking the southwest monsoon winds.
Regions like Chennai, Pondicherry have very little effect during the May to September period and bring in comparatively warm waters (accompanied by Whale Sharks). So, this belt along the coast is lucky to have diving activities continued almost all year around. However, these areas witness stronger Northeast Monsoon rains – withdrawal winds, in months of November, December and part of January. This period is also the cyclone season for Bay of Bengal. Every year, Bay of Bengal witness at least two or three cyclones. Scuba diving activities are stopped only during this small windows as per the forecasts.
But again, this period is also festive season for locals around here. And thus, the discounts galore and the diving continues as the cyclones pass by.
Further south on the East coast, there lies a shallow channel between India and Sri Lanka. Effect of which, this region has another different schedule to follow. The region also must adhere to Northeast Monsoon schedule and during that time, it is not possible to venture out for diving. Hence diving season here is only somewhere between April to August / September.
Palk Bay region (Rameswaram) is best dived in month of May. It is home to one of worlds ecologically diverse seagrass and seaweed areas, making it one of the best places to spot Dugongs (sea-cows).
Gulf of Mannar (Thoothukudi), further down south, is a UNSECO designated Marine biosphere. With restricted commercial marine activities here, area boosts rich coral reefs and marine ecosystem.
In places on the mainland, there are few dive shops which facilitate diving in in-land, freshwater lakes as well. These water bodies provide a different freshwater experience for scuba divers.
In recent years, cave diving is also being explored in the northeast mainland state of Meghalaya. The state is home to one of the cleanest rivers of India – Dwaki river, which has underwater cave formations. Technical divers and scuba divers are eager to explore more of these caves.
Considering the marine life, one can witness a very rich and varied species of marine creatures in different parts of the country. Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands boosts pristine blue, white sand beaches, with rich coral reefs with most of the time clear visibility.
Lakshadweep lies in the same underwater mountain range as of Maldives and have very similar fish life. Divers can spot, Whale sharks, Reef Sharks, Turtles, Manta rays, Blue spotted rays, etc. during their dives here.
Islands of Swaraj Dweep (Havelock) and Shahid Dweep (Neil) in Andamans are the most sort after places in India. You will find the most concentration of dive shops in India here. Dugong (sea cows) are considered the state animals for the Andaman & Nicobar province. One can have a very good chance to spot them in seagrass beds at Neil Island. Sharks, Whale sharks, Blue Spotted Rays are common in the lively coral reefs here. In recent times, local government have also granted permission to scuba dive at Barren Island – India’s only active volcano, completely isolated and untouched, off the Andaman Islands. Dive shops on Havelock and Neil have started organising day long dive trips to the coral reefs there. A little more adventurous divers can up their adrenaline to dive in the south of Port Blair – Chidiyatapu, to rarely spot saltwater crocodiles during the dives.
Access to Andaman & Nicobar Islands is completely open with direct flights from major cities in India. However, access to Lakshadweep islands is a little restricted with the requirement of visit permits. Even the Indian citizens need to obtain this permit to explore this isolated archipelago. Visit permits can be obtained by applying on local government website portals.
On the mainland, Dwarka in state of Gujarat, Malvan in state of Maharashtra and Gulf of Mannar still have good coral reefs to explore. Netrani Island, is one the best coral island off the coast of state of Karnataka to scuba dive, accessed by small town of Murudeshwar.
Party state of Goa also gives scuba divers to explore another island – Grande Island, with opportunity to witness beautiful Tabletop corals on its north side.
Chennai, Pondicherry, lie in the fishing regions. Also, considering the waters here are comparatively deeper, they lack of natural hard coral reefs. But they have been compensated with beautiful artificial reefs – sunk and created by the support of local government and NGOs, conservation efforts since almost a decade now. The efforts have seen some great results with returning of abundance of fish life in these reefs. Like mentioned before, months of June, July and August can be exciting with Whale Shark spotting’s and often having great, calm interaction with these gentle giants right next to your boats.
Months of February-March and September-October bring in the clear, blue visibility (15m-20m) waters in dive sites here.
All in all, Scuba Diving in India can be exciting and is a must explored option for divers in India. Dive conditions can vary with crystal clear waters, mirror like calm surface or sometimes choppy, windy conditions. You also get options of shore dive as well as boat dives, with opportunities for bioluminescent night dives.
Scuba diving industry in India is evolving and have enormous dive sites to be explored.
One will find Dive Centres and Dive Resorts associated with almost all major dive agencies like PADI / SSI / RAID / SDI, etc. catering to diving vacations, courses and scuba equipment sales and services.
And like any other country, India too has some unfortunate places of "Tea Bag diving" and some cheap / fraud individuals fooling around for quick bucks.
India currently has 6 Marine National Parks along its coast. Coral reefs and marine ecosystem varies at each of it.
Marine National Parks in India :
(*Out of the above, Gahirmatha Marine Park mostly concentrates only on Olive Ridley Turtle conservation efforts. It is said to be one of the biggest nesting grounds for Olive Ridley Turtles on its beaches. NO Scuba Diving there.)
For the remaining 5 Marine parks, some amount of scuba diving activities is and can be carried out in its waters. Some places specific permissions may be required to dive.
Conservation efforts by local governments, NGOs and dive shops are being made to rejuvenate waters rich with coral reefs and marine life. One of the recent examples is formation of a separate project towards Dugong conservation in Palk Bay region.
I, myself, have dived in almost all the places mentioned in the map above, exception been, Lakshadweep (just couldn’t be there at right time and place), Dwarka and Dwaki. Of course, they too are on my list for near future, and you will see me on the next boat I can get there.
This was just a in general summary of Scuba Diving in India I intend to write about each dive location in detailed, for its access, mode of travel, dive sites and marine life. Please comment your feedback(positive/negative) or reach out to me directly.
Happy Diving and Stay Salty!!!