How to Visit Barren Island: India's Only Active Volcano (Scuba & Boat Guide)

Barren Island at a Glance

Use this quick-facts box to plan the trip, then read each section in full below. Every figure is indicative, so confirm current distances, boat schedules, permits and charges with the A&N Forest Department or your dive operator before you set out.

How To Reach Barren Island from Port Blair & Havelock

Barren Island lies out in the open Andaman Sea, so there is no road, jetty or scheduled passenger ferry, and you cannot land on it. You reach it only by chartered boat or by joining a scheduled scuba-dive trip, and every visit stays offshore to circumnavigate the cone or dive its reefs.

From Port Blair (the main launch point)

Most trips leave from Port Blair, roughly 135–140 km southwest of the island, a sea crossing of about 3–5 hours each way. Dive boats and charters typically run a long day trip of around 12 hours with a pre-dawn start near 3 AM, so you reach the volcano in good morning light and have time for two or three dives before the return leg.

From Havelock (Swaraj Dweep)

Havelock is the closer launch point at about 100 km, roughly 2–3 hours by fast boat, and is the base for several dive operators who run scheduled Barren Island trips in the calm season. Starting from Havelock shortens the crossing and is popular with divers already staying on the island.

Seaplane / aerial view

Some travellers ask about a seaplane to see the volcano from the air. Aerial sightseeing has come and gone in the Andamans and is not a reliable, bookable option, so plan on a boat or dive trip, which is how you actually see the volcano and its reefs.

Because the volcano and its reefs are the whole reason to make this trip, our blog guide to Barren Island, India's only active volcano covers the island's background and geology in more depth, while this page handles the planning.

Barren Island Scuba Diving: Dive Sites & What You'll See

Barren Island is one of India's most sought-after dives precisely because it is so hard to reach: an active volcano rising from deep water, ringed by black volcanic sand and rich reefs. The diving is for advanced-certified, experienced divers only, with deep profiles, variable visibility and strong currents.

Named dive sites

• Purple Haze: a sloping reef known for soft corals and clouds of reef fish over the dark volcanic substrate.
• Barren Garden: coral gardens on volcanic sand, a contrast of living reef against the black slopes of the cone.
• Manta Point: the site travellers come for, with seasonal manta-ray sightings in the nutrient-rich water around the island.

Marine life

The volcanic seabed and open-ocean position draw big marine life: manta rays, reef and pelagic sharks, tuna, trevally, turtles and dense schools of fish, set against dark volcanic sand that makes the colours and silhouettes stand out.

For the wider scuba scene and where else to dive in the islands, see TravelTriangle's Andaman adventure and water-sports guide.

Permits & Costs

Visiting Barren Island is permit-gated because it is a protected, restricted reserve. Permission to approach the island is issued by the Forest Department of the Andaman & Nicobar administration, usually arranged at Port Blair, and foreign nationals also need the standard Andaman permit. Reputable boat and dive operators handle the paperwork as part of a booked trip.

Indicative costs

Costs vary widely with the boat, the number of divers and whether you charter privately or take a seat on a scheduled trip. The figures below are indicative and usually all-in on a packaged trip; always confirm current rates with operators and the Forest Department.

Costs are typically all-in (boat, permit, dives, meals) on a packaged trip.

Best Time to Visit Barren Island

The best time to visit Barren Island is November to February, the cool, dry season, when the Andaman Sea is calm and visibility is at its best for the long open-water crossing and the dives. Some operators extend trips into March and April; the monsoon months are unsuitable because the open-sea crossing becomes rough and trips are routinely cancelled.

The Volcano: History & Why It's Special

Barren Island is the only confirmed active volcano in India and South Asia. The island is about three kilometres across, the cone rises roughly 354 m above the sea, and it sits inside a caldera about two kilometres wide, rising straight out of deep water with no settlement of any kind.

Eruption history

The first recorded eruption was in 1787. The volcano erupted again in 1991 and 1994, with smoke continuing for years afterwards, and it has shown repeated activity into recent decades, which is why it remains classified as active and why landing is prohibited.

Other volcanoes in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Barren Island is not the only volcanic island in the chain. Narcondam Island, further north, is classified as a dormant volcano by the Geological Survey of India and is a UNESCO-recognised site, while Baratang Island is known for its mud volcanoes, a different, cool-mud phenomenon reached on a day trip from Port Blair. Barren remains the only one that is genuinely volcanically active.

Plan Your Barren Island Trip

The simplest way to dive or sail to Barren Island, without arranging the boat, the Forest Department permit and the dive logistics yourself, is to book it as part of an Andaman trip. TravelTriangle's Andaman scuba & adventure packages bundle the Barren Island dive day (boat, permit, advanced dives and the pre-dawn departure) with diving at Havelock and Neil and Port Blair sightseeing into customisable itineraries through verified local agents, backed by 40 Lac+ travellers since 2011. A typical plan bases you in Port Blair or Havelock, runs the Barren trip on a calm-season morning, and builds the rest of the islands around it. Every itinerary is shaped to your dates, your dive certification and your budget. For the full range of Andaman trips, see all Andaman tour packages.

Planning the rest of your trip? Browse the full Andaman travel guide for islands, ferries and itineraries, start from Port Blair (the gateway for the Barren Island boat trip), or jump straight to bookable Andaman scuba & adventure packages.