Lakshadweep (ലക്ഷദ്വീപ്, ލަކްޝަދީބު)

Lakshadweep (ലക്ഷദ്വീപ്, ލަކްޝަދީބު) is a Union Territory of India comprising a group of small islands located between 200 and 440 km off the coast of Kerala in southwestern India. The entire island group covers only 32 sq km (12 sq mi), making it the smallest union territory of the country.

The name Lakshadweep means "a hundred thousand islands" - while that is overstating the matter, it does give an idea that this is an archipelago comprising many small islands. The islands have been inhabited since the time of the Chera kingdom (5th century BC - 1102 AD).

Beach at Kavaratti Island, Lakshadweep


Lakshadweep came under British contol following the Third Anglo-Mysore War (1789-92). They were however left almost largely forgotten, and when India became independent on 15 August 1947, the inhabitants of Lakshadweep only learned the news a few days later.

Indian statesman Sardar Patel, realising that Pakistan might claim the islands - though they are nowhere near the Pakistani coast - sent an Indian navy boat to the islands to hoist the Indian flag. Just hours later, the Pakistan Navy appeared on the scene, but left on seeing the Indian flag already flying over Lakshadweep.

Agatthiyatti Stones at Kalpeni, Lakshadweep


Today Lakshadweep is slowly cashing in on tourism. It offers pristine waters and a myriad variety of water recreational activities from surfing to scuba diving. The seas around the island seem with marine life.

How to go to Lakshadweep

All visitors, including Indian nationals, require a special permit to visit Lakshadweep, easily obtained if you book a tour package with an operator licensed by the government of India. Non-Indian nationals may only visit Agatti, Bangaram and Kadmat, and are allowed transit at Kavaratti Island for maximum 12 hours.

There are regular flights to Agatti in Lakshadweep from Kochi and Bengaluru.

Agatti Island, Lakshadweep

Places in Lakshadweep

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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