Top 5 Museums You May Drop Into While You are Holidaying in Andaman
Take a break from the beach days of these exotic islands and drop into any of the museums of the capital city of Andaman, as you will find to be fruitful at the end of the day, we bet you! You would never expect such history in these faraway islands off the coast of the Bay of Bengal. However, these charming isles are home to quite many tribal communities and had been the settled by British and also invaded by the Japanese. And their history is scripted down in these museums. While you are visiting these museums, you will get to know more about the indigenous tribes and their cultures. In addition to that, colonial masters who had settled the islands had also put their footprints here in Andaman. A sample of their rich marine life of the archipelago can also be observed from these museums. Given below are the top museums you may drop into while you are holidaying in Andaman.
Samudrika Naval Marine Museum
Meant for the conservation of marine life, the Samudrika Naval Museum had been established right at the heart of Port Blair. It would welcome its visitors with a thought-provoking mermaid statue and a huge skeleton structure of a whale. Whereas, in the interiors, the exhibits showcased here are mostly of marine creatures such as corals, conchs, sea-dwellers and innumerable varieties of fishes. Your knowledge about them would obviously increase while you are analysing these seashells and dormant corals inhabiting underneath the surface waters of the Andaman Sea for many years. You are getting an added advantage by your visit to the museum as you could get to behold those nature’s marvels closely in front of your eyes without diving deep into the ocean waters of Andaman. Apart from that, you are getting that opportunity to purchase some rare and unique souvenirs from the shop set upright on its premises. So when you are holidaying on these islands, never miss dropping into the diverse Samudrika Naval Marine Museum.
Cellular Jail Museum
Known to be the most popular museum of Andaman, tourists holidaying here in the Andaman Islands would never return to their homeland without dropping into this historic Cellular Jail Museum. It was a British jail constructed by its inmates who were the freedom fighters of the Indian mainland. Even from the historical premises and its construction, you would get to know about how sophistically it was built. The opening of each cell is designed in such a way that each prisoner will not be able to face other inmates. They are meant to experience the hardest ordeals both physically and mentally. Even the geographical location of these cells was also a risky one, as even if they escape the view of the vast sea could only be their way out. Anyhow, now the remnant of the jail is very professionally set by the administration of the museum. If you are interested to know more about its history, you may buy tickets for the Light and Sound Show that will be very worthy enough. The dark mishaps suffered by them will be explained to you most convincingly in this show.
Zonal Anthropological Museum
Zonal Anthropological Museum is yet another must-visit location if you wish to return from these Andaman Islands as an informed tourist. Since they are an anthropological museum, the exhibits and other details put up for the visitors is something to deal with the anthropology of these exotic islands. These islands are home to some most isolated tribes of the world, some of them being very dangerous too. So the entry towards those islands is restricted by the Tourism department of Andaman. Henceforth, by a casual visit to this museum, you will get to study deeply about these indigenous tribes, namely, North Sentinelese, Great Andamanese, Jarawas and Onges. Each section of the museum is about each of these tribes. Nonetheless, the sections meant for Nicobarese and Shompens are set up differently in yet another ethnic part, as they belong to Mongloid tribes.
Forest Museum
Situated within the premises of Chatham Saw Mill, this Forest museum is an unmissable place to be added to Andaman tour packages. Because of this, the artefacts and other exhibits installed here are in some ways related to wood. These unique products are mainly carved out from the woods such as Gurjam, Satinwood, Marble, Peuma and obviously Padauk. Apart from the pieces of art exhibited in its indoors, you may also take a stroll around the beautifully set green gardens that has incorporated varied kinds of endangered flora and fauna. In its very setting itself, they are far different from the popular Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad. Adjacent to them, you could also drop into an alluring mini- zoo. But do not expect anything like that of Bannerghatta Biological Park near Bangalore. So while you are visiting this Forest Museum, you must make a point to check each and every wooden exhibit closely, to make your trip worthy enough.
Zoological Survey of India Museum
Right from its very name, you would already have realised that the Zoological Survey of India Museum has got something to deal with any sort of creatures inhabiting the Andaman Islands. In that case, you are indeed very accurate, as the exhibits installed here are mostly about the marine species inhabiting these distant unpolluted isles. The most common species showcased here consist of whales, starfish, anemones, different types of corals and many others. In addition to that, the collection of dead fossils and the skeletons of the above said marine creature are truly magnificent. Forget the diversity of the sights in its indoors and go out of the building explore for yourselves, as you are going to be astonished by the charming beauty of the avian spotted outside in the premises of the ZSI museum. They are home to wide varieties of butterflies, beetles, birds and other mammals. In that list, includes stuffed parakeets and hawks. Apart from that, some remnants of underwater marvels too are showcased in the interiors of the museum. Its rare varieties are studied by the researchers and science students visiting the museum.
