INDIA - Andaman Island
The Andaman Islands are India's best-kept secret. Stunning beaches, aquamarine coral lagoons, lush green rainforest, active volcanoes, swimming elephants, and giant fish.
Barefoot at Havelock is a luxury eco-retreat, located exclusively on what TIME Magazine rated as the best beach in Asia, 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.
Being Responsible
The barefoot philosophy propagates the use of only natural indigenous materials in the living and recreational spaces. The resort harvests its own rainwater and draws judiciously from a natural spring that emerges on the premises. Kitchen and shower wastewater is filtered in a natural and simple way so that it can be used to water the grounds or recycled for other applications.
How you will reside
The resort consists of 18 beautifully designed and environmentally sensitive cottages hidden in the tropical foliage. The ten spacious Nicobari cottages and eight Andaman Villas are constructed mainly out of fast regenerable materials. The walls are made from bamboo or wood, the roofs from thatch, and the floors from local hardwoods. The rooms are 40 sqmt in size with large ensuite bathrooms fitted with modern amenities. All cottages and villas are raised off the ground in keeping with the low impact footprint. The resort and cottages are spread over 8 acres, thus giving you an uninterrupted feeling of nature and privacy.
How you will eat
Savour the delicious vegetarian and seafood dishes created by the chef at the main resort restaurant. Continental and Indian food are the best and guests can chose from the set menu or dine a la carte. Whatever guests choose to eat, they can take comfort in the knowledge that all vegetables are organically grown and fertilizer free, sea food is fresh from the sea and the chicken (and eggs) are “free range”.
Next to the main restaurant is the Lounge. Furnished in the Indian and Oriental style, with divans and bolsters, low-level tables and aromatic candles, it is a place to sit back and relax and swap stories with other guests…Or alternatively, 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.
Amenities
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 - easy dives filled with colourful reef fish, sea turtles, the occasional dugong and plenty of coral. Barefoot Scuba, our own full-service dive centre, is located at Beach No. 3 and offers PADI dive courses and recreational dive trips in and around Havelock.
Guests will have the possibility to meet Rajan, the resort’s male tusker elephant whom the property rescued from a life of hard labour. He is one of the amazing ocean-swimming elephants of the Andaman Islands and lives at the resort.
For a more spiritual alternative, there are yoga courses between January and April every year. It is also possible to borrow kayak or snorkeling equipment from the dive centre and explore the lovely mangrove creeks or shallow reefs close to the resort. Night and day fishing is also available and for the land-lovers amongst you, jungle treks and bird watching trips are available.
