Port Blair

Port Blair is the capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands in India. Located at 11° 40' N and 92° 46' E, Port Blair is the municipal council in the southern part of Andaman, a part of India's Union Territory.
Port Blair is mainly famous for the Cellular Jail. Being located on the coastal line of Bay of Bengal, the town has got palm-lined beaches with spectacular view of marine life and rare corals. A drive on the bumping roads amidst the lush green forests will make you fall for the place.Port Blair, being a part of the tribal area of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, mainly speaks Nicobarese. Apart from that, the residents of Port Blair even speak languages like Hindi, Bengali, Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil.

Port Blair experiences a moderate and tropical monsoon type of climate. The average temperature varies a little bit ranging from 20° C to 30° C with heavy or light rainfall almost throughout the year. The month of April is the warmest month when average temperature rises to around 32° C. The months of January, February and March is said to be the coolest months of the year.Keeping in mind the overall yearly climate of Port Blair, the period between the months of December and the starting of April is the best time to visit the place.

 

What To See

 

Cellular Jail

 

 Built by the British to house political prisoners far away from the mainland. All prisoners were kept in isolation cells and subjected to a brutal work regime, with regular whippings and executions. Briefly taken over by the Japanese during WW2, who added outright torture to the palette. Today, however, the jail has been transformed into an immaculately kept national monument complete with a garden that seems very much at odds with the horror of the place.You can watch it from morning 9:30 a.m to 4 p.m. A light-and-sound show in Hindi (6 pm) and English (7 pm) available in the evenings. Some days the timings are alternated. Jail is closed on Mondays although the light and sounds is still on in the evenings. You have to stand in a long queue from 4.30 pm onwards till the ticket counter opens at 5.20 pm.

 

Corbyn's Cove (beach).

 

 An average beach, and the closest to Port Blair. Popular with locals for swimming and watching the sunset. However, part of the beach was washed away by the 2004 tsunami and currents can be very strong, so be careful if you decide to swim.

 

Central Agricultural Research Institute (CARI), (about 4km away from the airport). 

 

CARI Scientists are conducting research on different aspects of Island Agriculture. Landscaping of CARI is very beautiful and it is worth seeing. Here you can see farms of different livestocks and poultry viz. Cattle, Pig, Goat, Rabbit, Turkey, Quail, Guinea Fowl, Duck, Fisheries Ponds, Integrated Farming System model etc and fodder blocks as well.

 

Anthropological Museum

 

 Closed on Thursdays and Public Holidays.. Interesting Anthropological museum which gives the history of the various A&N tribes. 

 

Chatam Saw Mill

 

 Chatam (15 mins by bus from STS Bus terminal, private buses available ₹6 per person). A saw mill, oldest in Asia. Also the Chatam jetty is where ships from Calcutta/Chennai loaded with goods enter Port Blair. From the jetty passenger jetty is available for Bamboo flat and Dundus Point. 10 Rs/person inclusive of camera.

 

Samudrika Naval Museum

 

This museum has nice display of corals and live fishes. Also has a shop where you can buy local items. 20 Rs/person. Still camera - Rs 20.

 

What To Do

 

Ross Island was British administrative capital of Andamans. Now it has many old British building in Ruins. The island has lot of deers and peacocks. So its a nice place where you can spend quality time admiring the nature.

North Bay It is the place to do scuba, jet skii, snorkeling , sea walk etc. You don't need to know swimming to do scuba diving. Don't miss it.

Snorkeling at Jolly Buoy is a MUST DO for everyone and you can watch much better Corals and fishes here snorkeling as compared to Havelock Island. To reach here, first you have to reach Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park at Wandoor. Wandoor is around 30 km from Port Blair. There is only few ferries which takes you from Wandoor to Jolly Buoy and generally leaves at around 9 am. In peak season (December – January), you might want to book those tickets in advance as they are limited. Tickets cost ₹650 per head. Ticket cost includes one small round of trip around the corals in glass bottom boat as well as one small round of snorkeling. You can pay some more money to the guide to take an extended trip. At Jolly Buoy, everyone should do Snorkeling as it is a wonderful experience (No, you don’t need to know swimming for Snorkeling and it is completely safe). It’s a great experience to actually NOT touch Star fish, Sea Cucumber and just watch all fishes at arm’s distance. Never touch or disturb corals. It takes them years to build. If you are going to do snorkeling, don't spend money on extra trip of glass bottom boat. It is a MUST TO CARRY eatables and water as you won’t find anything at all there to eat/drink. It is restricted to carry plastic bags to Jolly buoy, so you can rent the Jute bag at 1Re/bag (with a deposit of Rs. 100).

Sea walking. 25 mins. Sea Walking is a must for those who love to see the corals and fishes deep inside their habitat. You put on a oxygen mask, to which oxygen is supplied from oxygen cylinders on the ship. You move down a ladder into the water, where the sea divers will show you the corals. They also feed fish on your hands and hundreds of fish will gather in front of you. Only discomfort will be some pain in the ears as you move deep into the water. They take you down to around 20-25 feets below surface for approx. 25 minutes. To do Sea Walking you have to get to North Bay Island. You can buy tickets at Rajiv Gandhi Water Sports complex and get on a ferry to North Bay Island. Its advisable to carry another set of clothes to change. Though clothes may be provided by the company. You can ask your operator to bargain for free to and fro ride from the Island. Also, they charge Rs. 500 per person for under water photography. you can be particular about your photographs and pay only after checking you pics, as sometimes the photographs are not good. They will give you a CD of the photographs, you can check the photos on their computer. â‚¹500 per person. 

Sealink Adventure’s, Near to Phoenix Jetty of Port Blair (to North Bay Island), â˜Ž 03192 237040 / 09679578661), The sea walking cost OF RS. 2700/ per head for about 40 minutes of stay underwater during which a person can stay underwater wearing a 35 kg oxygenated helmet(each helmet costs a whopping three lakh rupees) to explore and enjoy the company of fishes and corals in a 900 sq mtr area. The entire area is barricaded by net so as to ward off any crocodile attack. 6 in 1 package that includes, apart from sea walk, boat transfer (Rs. 250), Jet ski (Rs. 350), Banana Ride (Rs. 250), Sofa Ride (Rs. 300), Speed Boat Ride (Rs. 250) and Glass Bottom View (Rs 300) besides packed breakfast costs a total of Rs. 4400, but a discounted cost of Rs. 3700/ is being charged for the entire package. A separate subsidized package, he said, is being worked out for the local residents. There are three daily trips at 8 AM, 9 AM and 12.30 PM respectively.

Infiniti Live Abroad, (Near to Phoenix Jetty of Port Blair) The Infiniti is a brand new, beautiful liveaboard specially constructed in Thailand for the purpose of live aboard diving in India’s remote Andaman & Lakshadweep islands

 

How To Reach

 

 

By Air

Port Blair is well connected with regular flights from Chennai and Kolkata. NRIs and foreigners need to get a Protected Area Permit (PAP) on arrival at the Port Blair airport, which is valid for up to 30 days' stay. There is no additional fee for the PAP.

By Water

For the adventurous and the patient, you can take a passenger ship that heads out to Port Blair from Chennai (60 hours), Kolkata (66 hours), and Visakhapatnam (56 hours). Tickets can be booked at the office of the Shipping Corporation of India (SCI).