Radhanagar Beach

Radhanagar is on the western side of Havelock Island — officially Swaraj Dweep since 2018 — in the Andaman archipelago, a thousand kilometres east of the Indian mainland and considerably closer to Myanmar. It is two kilometres of pale sand backed by mahua forest, curving to a headland at the northern end.

It became famous through lists. *Time* named it the best beach in Asia in 2004 and Indian tourism has repeated the claim ever since; what is unusual is that the beach has stayed largely as it was, because the Andamans restrict development heavily and the islands remain difficult and expensive to reach. There is no resort strip here and there is not going to be one.

The sand is fine and pale, the water shallow and warm, and the bay faces west, which means the sunset runs straight down the beach and everybody stays for it. The forest comes close enough to give real shade — rare on a tropical beach — and the tree line is protected. Saltwater crocodiles inhabit these islands and there was a fatal attack here in 2010; swimming is now restricted to a patrolled section and the warnings are serious rather than decorative.

Development is minimal: a car park, changing rooms, a small canteen and lifeguards. Resorts are set back in the forest and none of them front the sand. The Andaman and Nicobar administration requires permits for foreign visitors to the islands generally, and several islands are closed entirely to protect the indigenous peoples who live on them. Elephant Beach on the same island is reached by boat or a muddy forest walk and has the snorkelling, and Neil Island — Shaheed Dweep — an hour further on is the quiet one.

Two kilometres of sand under mahua forest that reaches close enough to give real shade, which is rare in the tropics. Swim in the patrolled section — there are saltwater crocodiles in the Andamans and there was a fatality here — and stay for the sunset, which runs straight down the beach and is why everyone is still there at six.