Mathemagic: Andamans best

Measurable factors like quality of sand and colour were taken into account, reports Aruna P Sharma.

Last winter, the Andaman Islands were in the news for the tsunami. This winter, they are in news for a different reason.

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A German tour operator-turned-author, Wim De Ruiter, has named the areas containing the world’s 10 best beaches. In his list, which was carried in The Independent, De Ruiter gave the Andaman Islands the top rank.

The first four areas on the list — others are Laccadive Islands, the Maldives and the Seychelles — are in the Indian Ocean.

De Ruiter used maths to arrive at his top 10. Measurable factors like quality of sand and colour, luminosity and depth of water and angle of the sun were rated on a scale of 1 to 5.

Explaining his formula, he said: “White sand is only made by the erosion of coral reefs. Coral can only be found in waters where the temperature never drops below 21C. This is why the best beaches are only to be found in the tropics, between 27 degrees north and 27 degrees south of the Equator.”

The Independent seemed to agree: “Others may quibble with his top 10 destinations, but there is no question that the Andamans and Laccadives are heavenly spots which have earned the reputation of tropical paradise.”

Kuldip Gangar, director, tourism and publicity, Andaman and Nicobar administration, told HT: “We always knew that the Andamans had world-class beaches. But we were not

aware that they were the best until the BBC called up to inform us about it. The tsunami, fortunately, did not take away the natural beauty of the islands.”