Bay of Bengal islands · Andaman & Nicobar
Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar
Sources: wikimedia
About Port Blair
- Island
- Coastal
Where it is
Port Blair, officially renamed Sri Vijaya Puram in 2024, is the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India, set around a sheltered harbour on the east coast of South Andaman Island.
History
The town is named after Archibald Blair, a naval officer who surveyed the islands and set up a first British settlement here in 1789. After the uprising of 1857 the British made it a penal settlement, first for rebels and later for political prisoners, and built the Cellular Jail in 1896–1906. Japan occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945, and Port Blair has remained their capital since independence.
People
Port Blair's people have roots all over India, from descendants of the penal settlement to later settlers from Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Chota Nagpur. Hindi is the common tongue, alongside Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and Malayalam.
Known for
- The Cellular Jail, now a national memorial
- Ross Island's ruined colonial settlement
- Corbyn's Cove beach
- Coral reefs at North Bay Island
- Ferries to Havelock and Neil islands
Did you know?
The Cellular Jail was built with seven wings of solitary cells radiating from a central watchtower like the spokes of a wheel; the tower and three of the wings survive.
We haven't written a guide for this place yet — you can still plan a trip here.