• Lakshadweep was earlier known as Laccadives, Amindivi and Minicoy Islands
• Lakshadweep is the smallest Union Territory of India. The group is located around 400 km off of the coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea. The total land area of the entire territory is 32 sq km.
• Eleven of the islands are inhabited.  93% of the population is Muslims and Malayalam is the dominant language. Fishing and coir production are the main economic activities.
• Lakshadweep (meaning a hundred thousand islands) is built on ancient volcanic formations.
• Lakshadweep officially consists of 12 atolls, 3 reefs and 5 submerged banks, with a total of about 36 islands and islets. The reefs are in fact also atolls, although mostly submerged. The submerged banks are sunken atolls. Of these Islands, only 11 are inhabited.
• The main islands are Kavaratti (where the capital city, Kavaratti, is located), Agatti, Minicoy, and Amini.   Agatti has an airport where there are direct flights from Kochi or Ernakulam (Cochin) in the state of Kerala. There are also flights from Bangalore in Karnataka. 
• Consumption of liquor or alcoholic drink is not permitted in the islands except at Bangaram Island.
• Almost all the atolls lie on the eastern rim of the islands. They are mostly submerged reef lie on the western rim, enclosing a lagoon.
• The Indian government employs a strictly enforced entry-permit system. All the islands are "owned" by the indigenous people, and land is unavailable for purchase by non-natives - even a man marrying a local woman may not buy land here.
• Minicoy Island, which is closest to the nearby Maldives, shares aspects of its neighbor's culture, including a Maldivian dialect known as Mahl. In other islands, Malayalam is prevalent language.
• Do carry some insect repellent since the mosquitoes become distressingly active once the dusk sets in.

(Photo by: zaldoe)

Go back to Travel Guide of Laccadive Islands

or Know how to reach Lakshadweep

or See the beaches in Lakshadweep