About Port Blair

Port Blair is the biggest as well as the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India. It is situated on the eastern coast of South Andaman Island and is the primary gateway to the islands. 

Port Blair is the headquarters of the district of South Andaman and is also an important base for the Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy. The headquarters of the Tri Services Command is also located at this place.

Captain Archibald Blair of the Bombay Marine set a colony on this island in 1789 to punish the convicts and political prisoners and named it ‘Port Cornwallis’ after his commander Admiral Sir William Cornwallis. The first European settlement here was set close to the old penal colony in 1858 and was named ‘Port Blair’ after Captain Blair.

Port Blair is known for the Cellular Jail, which is also known as 'Kala Paani'. Since the Revolt of 1857, prisoners were sent and kept in the Andaman Islands. The prison was established many years later in 1896 and it became operational in 1906.

The bricks that were used to build the Jail were imported from Burma (present day Myanmar). One of the specialities of this jail was that its architecture was very carefully designed and was one of the most secure jails in India during that time. The jail had seven wings and in its centre was a watch tower from where guards could keep a close watch on all the prisoners. 

Many of these wings were destroyed over the years. The remaining wings and the watch tower were converted to a national memorial in 1969. At present the premises has a 500 bed hospital named Govind Ballabh Pant Hospital, which was established in 1963.

The Cellular Jail is undoubtedly the main attraction in this place. During the evenings a light and sound show is organised in the jail, which tells about its history along with the history of the Andaman Islands.

Port Blair also houses several museums, which are very well maintained. The most prominent museum in this place is the Anthropological Museum built in 1975. The museum displays tribal artifacts, including boats, basket, weapons, clothing, photographs, along with models and records of expeditions that were carried out in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 

The museum also has a library that has a collection of some of the most popular publications associated to tribal culture in the Islands. Another famous tourist place is the Samudrika Museum maintained by the Indian Navy.

How to Reach??

Port Blair By Flight

Port Blair has an airport which is connected to 2 other Indian cities. The airlines servicing Port Blair are Air India, Air India-IC, Go Air, Go Business, IndiGo, Jet Airways Konnect, Jet Airways, JetLite, Kingfisher Red, Kingfisher and SpiceJet.

Port Blair By Train (Nearest station Chennai)

Port Blair does not have a train station, and the nearest station is Chennai, at a distance of 1479 kms from Port Blair. Chennai has 5 train stations. They are Chennai , Chennai Beach, Chennai Egmore, Chennai Fort and Chennai Park.

Whether of Port Blair

Port Blair has distinct seasons, with significant variations in temperature throughout the year. May, April, March are the warm months of the year in Port Blair. The temperatures reach their highest in the month of May. February, June, March are the pleasant months of the year, with temperatures reaching their lowest in March.

Places to Visit

The Cellular Jail

The Cellular Jail : To pay homage to the martyrs, one can visit the Cellular Jail and museum. The jail is now a memorial and a national museum. A moving sound and light show, narrating the saga of the freedom struggle is staged every day in the jail. It is entirely made up of individual cells for the solitary confinement of the prisoners. It was a seven pronged, puce-coloured building with central tower acting as its fulcrum and a massive structure comprising honeycomb like corridors.

Anthropological Museum: Anthropological Museum, which displays the tools, clothing, photographs, models, habitats, art and handcrafts of the aboriginal tribes of Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The museum remains closed on Mondays and holidays

ZSI Museum : Run by the Zoological Survey of India, the museum has on display a variety of sponges, corals, butterflies and centipedes, besides other animals. Situated near the Andaman Teal House, the museum is also having a research library.

Aquarium : The aquarium or fisheries museum, near the Andaman Water Sports Complex, exhibits more than 300 marine species peculiar to the islands and those found in the Indo-Pacific and the Bay of Bengal. The aquarium is closed on Mondays and holidays.

Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park : The Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park at Wandoor comprises 15 small islands, creeks and open sea spread across 280 sq. km with tropical rain forests and more than 50 types of corals & rare under-water marine life. It is located about 29 Kms. from Port Blair covering an area of 281.5 Sq.Kms. Viewing of rare corals and underwater marine life through glass bottom boats, Scuba diving and Snorkeling are a pleasant experience for anyone.

Gandhi Park : This beautiful Park at Port Blair has facilities like children's park, amusement park, deer and bird park, safe water sports, nature trail, lake, garden, restaurant and Japanese temple, as well as a bunker. The erstwhile Dilthaman Tank, which was the only source of drinking water to Port Blair has been developed into Gandhi Park in short time of 13 days.

Samudrika(Naval Marine Museum) : The museum has display shells, corals, and many species of fish and historical & geographical information of these islands. It is run by the Indian Navy and is located near Teal House at Port Blair.