India

Where to surf in India

Roll out every cliché ever written about amazing culture, incredible scenery and life changing travel experiences, because India often fits the bill. It also demonstrates all human frailties and exudes a spiritual power that befuddles the modern world, which it is currently rushing headlong to join. Even the word surf is apparently derived from the Indian word suffe meaning coastline and there is a massive 7000km (4350mi) of that. We only cover part of the SW flank of India in detail, as it is undoubtedly the richest in wave resources, but cast an eye up the west coast and many other possibilities exist. The swell is usually from the S to W quadrant, in line with the dominant winds, plus a NW swell can also appear from Arabian Sea disturbances. May to Sept is prime time for swells up to 15ft (5m) that just need a calm wind to organize themselves at one of the 200 rivermouths, countless beaches or man made jetties that provide some much needed shape to the waves. Low to mid tides are usually better as high tide can cause bad shorepound or just make the waves disappear.

Gujarat

Way up north, SurfingIndia.net shows the left point at Dwaraka as the wave to check amongst the long, flat beaches of Gujarat State.

Maharashtra

Maharashtra would appear to be disadvantaged by a wide continental shelf and silted up beaches around the myriad river deltas surrounding Mumbai, but there are some long rivermouth waves to be found close to Alibag, plus good beaches, reefs and points.

Goa is so familiar to many as party central around Christmas, yet mid-year will see regular chest-high days and a pick of the peaks at Baga, Calungute and Candolim, plus there are spots further north with the kiteboarders at Arambol and Vagator or further south around Benaulim and Palolem. Nothing special, but fun, empty and warm.

Karnataka

There are a variety of waves near the centre of Karnataka state, many of them serviced by boat from The Ashram Surf Retreat which uses the Shambhavi River and a fast boat to access local breaks.

Kerala

Crossing into Kerala sees consistency and size improve plus the appearance of more piers and jetties, which can provide stormy surf protection around Mahe from Thalassery to the big rivermouth at Talakkolattur. Between Mahe and Cherai is fairly straight and un-exciting except around the rivermouths and jetties. Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the most surfed regions in the country and are at centre stage of India’s blossoming surf culture.

Andhra Pradesh

To the north of Sri Lanka's swell shadow are Pondicherry and Auroville, steep beach and jetty breaks that can get good in big monsoon or cyclone swells. Coastal armouring that protects the ancient Mahabalipuram Shore Temple has helped catch the sand and funnel some hollow righthanders down the point. Another good wave in this area is Big Rock, a proper left barrel over a rock shelf, just next to the reliable right point of Fisherman’s Cove.

North of this, the marshy, sandy delta of the Krishna River sculpts some rivermouth bars that could have their day in SE swells and NW winds, rewarding those willing to put in a massive effort getting there. Finding a boat would make it much easier and safer to explore. There's a long right at one of the mouths of the Godavari near Odalaravu that if it lined-up would be a 2km ride.

After three surf missions to the Andaman Islands, Asian-based photographer John Callahan turned his attention to the mainland, where he found some promising satellite pictures of the indented coastline of Visakhapatnam district, backed up by good photos of Lawson Bay.

Orissa

Way up north in Orissa State, the dying swell hits straight beachbreaks at Puri; shorebreak when small or consistent lines of pounding whitewash when big.

Lakshadweep Islands

The Lakshadweep is a Union Territory of India, (formerly known as the Laccadive Islands), but these atolls share far more in common with the Maldives than they do with the Subcontinent. Across the 12 atolls, the best place to look for surf is on the big ones like Androth, Amini, and Agatti, where the airport and main accommodation is. The reefs are often straight without any gaps so the tips of the islands will need investigation. Minicoy sits in isolation a long way south, putting it closer to the swell source and a more likely candidate for regular waves from June to September when a big SE or wrapping SW swell can bend onto the east coast, and be offshore in the W winds. The large concrete pier grooms these swells onto the reef, creating a flawless right barrel when the swell hits.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Of the 550 Andaman Islands only a handful of them have been surfed and there is undoubtedly more spots to be discovered, especially in the north of the chain where swell regularity is much lower.

In the Nicobar Islands plenty of problems revolve around access, which is heavily restricted to most indigenous tribal regions and in fact a blanket ban exists for foreigners, ostensibly for the protection of the indigenous tribal groups, unique flora and fauna. You do need a written permit from the Assistants Commissioner's office and the Forestry Department to access parts of the island inhabited by tribal groups, particularly around Indira Point, which is India’s southernmost point. Recently, some Indian surfers explored this area and found some amazing world-class surf on the southwest coast of Great Nicobar, plus some tasty reefs and righthand pointbreaks along the SE coast up to the main area of habitation at Campbell Bay, where a fun peak hits the breakwall in a strong S swell. Car Nicobar, Teressa and Katchal Island all have ample swell exposure from the S-W, along with the promising reef bathymetry and Teressa and Katchal Island have been surfed by passing yachts (without permits).