A guided nature walk through Havelock's tropical forest. Trees, insects, reptiles and the small details you would walk straight past on your own. 2 to 2.5 hours at an easy pace, a nature walk rather than a strenuous hike.
Want more details?Almost everybody who comes to Havelock sees the same three things: a beach, a boat and a reef. The island itself, the part behind the tree line, gets skipped. That is a shame, because the Andamans hold some of the least disturbed tropical forest left in India and on Havelock it starts about five minutes from the road.
This is a guided walk into that forest at an easy pace. Big buttressed trees, strangler figs, bamboo, land crabs, butterflies, geckos, and a naturalist explaining how the whole thing fits together. It is a nature walk, not a trek. If you can walk for two hours on uneven ground, you can do this.
Trail conditions change with the weather, particularly after heavy rain, when sections can be muddy or slippery. The route and timing may be adjusted on the day for safety. If the trail is unusable we move your walk or refund it in full.
The Andaman Islands are among the most heavily forested parts of India, with a large majority of the land area still under tree cover. What grows here is tropical evergreen and semi-evergreen forest, wet, dense and layered, and quite different from the dry forest most Indian visitors will have walked in before.
It also has a very particular history. These islands sat far enough offshore for long enough that a good deal of what lives here is found nowhere else, in the plants and insects as much as in the birds.
Once you see the layers you cannot stop seeing them, and each one holds different life.
The few giants that break out above everything else. Full sun, high wind, and the perching and nesting spots for the largest raptors.
The continuous roof of the forest and where most of the action is. The great majority of birds, insects and flowering happens up here, out of easy sight.
Young trees waiting for a gap, palms, shrubs and ferns in low light. This is the layer you are actually walking through.
Leaf litter, fungi, decomposition and the animals that work it: land crabs, skinks, snails, termites and a great deal of insect life.
Someone who can name the trees, read the tracks and explain what is happening, for the whole walk.
Small enough to hear the guide and quiet enough that wildlife does not clear out ahead of you.
At a nature-walk pace with regular stops, not a route march.
Layers, tree species, decomposition, the strangler fig cycle and how the pieces depend on each other.
Tracks, termite columns, spider webs, fungi and insects that you would walk straight past on your own.
Sent on WhatsApp with your start time.
| Walk | What it is really about | Terrain |
|---|---|---|
| Forest trail | Forest ecology, trees, insects and the floor | Uneven forest ground, easy pace |
| Waterfall trail | The same forest with a seasonal waterfall as the destination | Longer and rougher, roots and rock |
| Bird watching | Birds specifically, in the productive hours | Short distance, lots of standing still |
| Secret beach | Coastal forest with a quiet beach at the end | Mixed, with time at the shore |
It is a nature walk rather than a trek. The ground is uneven, with roots and some soft or muddy patches, but there is no serious climbing and the pace is slow with frequent stops. If you can walk on rough ground for a couple of hours, you will be fine.
Around 2 to 2.5 hours in total. The distance covered is short, since most of the time goes on stopping and looking rather than on ground covered.
Closed walking shoes with a grip. Trail surface can be damp and slippery, especially after rain, and closed shoes also keep leeches and scratchy vegetation off your feet. Sandals and flip-flops are not a good idea.
After rain, yes. They are harmless and you will not feel them, they are just unpleasant to find. Closed shoes with socks and insect repellent on your shoes and ankles deal with most of it, and your guide carries salt to remove any that attach.
There are, as in any tropical forest. Most species on these islands are non-venomous and all of them prefer to avoid people. Staying on the trail, watching where you put your hands and feet, and following the guide is all the precaution required. Sightings are uncommon and usually of a snake leaving.
Yes, for children who are happy walking for a couple of hours on uneven ground. The pace is slow and there is plenty to look at. Closed shoes are important for children too.
Light rain is usually fine and the canopy takes a lot of it. Heavy rain makes the trail slippery, so we may change the route or the timing, or move you to another slot during your stay. If nothing suitable is available before you leave, you get a full refund.
The forest trail is about the forest itself and is the easier of the two, at 2 to 2.5 hours. The waterfall trail uses similar forest but is longer and rougher, at 2 to 3 hours, and has a seasonal waterfall as the destination, which depends on recent rainfall. If you want the forest, take this one. If you want a destination, take the waterfall.
₹1,500 per person plus 18% GST, which comes to ₹1,770 per person. That covers the naturalist for the full walk in a small group. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.
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