Netrani is one of the small quaint Islands, off the coast of Karnataka. About 19 kilometres from Murudeshwara, in Bhatkal Taluk, this islands is one of the most beautiful places and makes an amazing weekend getaway. It is also called the Pigeon Island because apart from pigeons the only inhabitants are wild goats.
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The island has scuba diving facilities and is easily accessible from Mangalore, Bangalore, Goa etc. This is a Coral Island with wide varieties of Coral Reefs, eels, shrimps etc. If lucky, divers might even spot whale sharks around the island.
The island was once used as target practice for armed forces by the Government of India. However, diving and snorkeling is done near the island from a boat as the rocks around the island are quite sharp. This 15 meter rock island has some of the lovely reefs. The best time to visit is during December and January. While tourists enjoy scuba diving, local fishermen seem to notice some unauthorized scuba diving that keep causing a problem for their occupation. It is very important for tourists to approach authorized groups for scuba diving sessions.
Another reason apart from that being, while scuba diving at Netrani is definitely safe, it is also important that there are safety measures and equipment to handle emergencies. Hence it is only advisable that tourists who want to try their hand at scuba diving go through a well trusted group that has experience in handling scuba diving sessions earlier.