TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS

CELLULAR JAIL- NATIONAL MEMORIAL

The CELLULAR jail, a National Memorial, stood as a mute witness to the most brutal and barbaric atrocities meted out to national freedom fighters, who were incarcerated in this jail.
The jail, completed in the year 1906 acquired the name ‘Cellular’ because it was entirely made up of individual cells for solitary confinement. It originally was a seven-block structure with three stories and a central tower acting as its fulcrum comprising of honeycomb like corridors. Jail Museum opens from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon and from 1:30 pm to 4:45 pm all days except National holidays.

SAMUDRIKA (NAVAL MARINE MUSEUM)

Situated opposite Andaman Teal House, Delanipur, Port Blair, this museum create awareness on various aspects of oceanic environment and houses a vast collection of cells, corals and a few species of colourful fishes of the sea around the islands. Closed on Mondays and Holidays. Timings: 09:00 AM to 12.00 Noon and 02.00 PM to 05.00 PM.

CHATHAM SAW MILL

Situated opposite Andaman Teal House, Delanipur, Port Blair, this museum create awareness on various aspects of oceanic environment and houses a vast collection of cells, corals and a few species of colourful fishes of the sea around the islands. Closed on Mondays and Holidays. Timings: 09:00 AM to 12.00 Noon and 02.00 PM to 05.00 PM.

FISHERIES MUSEUM

This museum is situated adjacent to the Rajiv Gandhi Water Sport Complex, Port Blair, which exhibits species of marine life endemic to the islands and found in the Indo-Pacific and the Bay of Bengal. It is closed on Mondays/Public Holidays/Second Saturdays. Timings: 09:00 AM to 01.00 PM and 02.00 PM to 04.45 PM.

ANTHROPOLOGICAL MUSEUM

The Anthropological museum in Port Blair started in the year 1975-76, is an ethnographic museum. It showcases the four Negrito Tribes of the Andaman viz. the Jarawas, Sentinelese, Great Andamanese and the Onges and two Mongoloid Tribes of the Nicobar viz. the Nicobarese and the Shompens. This museum is closed on Mondays and Govt. Holidays. Timings: 09:00 AM to 01.00 PM and 01.30 PM to 04.30 PM.

ROSS ISLAND

This small island, less than a square kilometer stands right across Port Blair. This island served as the capital to the Britishers from 1858 to 1941 when the Japanese occupied it and converted it to a ‘POW site’. This island homes the ruins of the church, Chief Commissioner’s house, the Cathedral and graveyard of the Britishers and few other important landmarks which today is hugged by wild wines and huge roots and trunks of century old trees. To reach Ross Island, private ferries are available from Aberdeen Jetty except on Wednesday.

ROSS ISLAND

The iconic light house of North bay appears on every 20 rupees Indian currency note. North Bay beach which is north of Port Blair provides snorkeling opportunities around its fringing coral reefs. Private ferry service takes you from Aberdeen Jetty across North Bay and brings back after a three hour stay. The corals at North Bay are spread over a large area. During snorkeling, one can spot many species of fish, lobsters and even clams on the coral reef. Sea walk is the latest addition of facilities there to watch under water life.

CORBYN’S COVE BEACH

Corbyn’s Cove beach- the coconut-palm fringed beach, six kilometers away from Port Blair town is ideal for swimming and sun-basking. Facilities like hotel, restaurant, bar, changing room, adventure water-sports are available here. Historical remains like Japanese Bunkers can be seen on the way to this beach. The Snake Island situated just across the beach is popular for scuba diving. The Waves Restaurant & Beer Bar run by Tourism department provides delightful cuisine at reasonable rates in a soothing ambience.

CHIDIYATAPPU

Chidiyatappu- the southernmost tip of South Andaman Island situated at a distance of 28 Kms from Port Blair. Frequent bus service are available from Port Blair. It is famous for bird watching, sunset view, panoramic scenic beauties, and many colours of oceanic view. Swimming can be done at Chidiyatappu. Safety places boards are erected in Chidiyatappu. But beware of crocodiles. The biological park at Chidiyatappu is the added attraction.

MOUNT HARRIET

Mount Harriet, 55 Kms by road/ 15 Kms by ferry and trek from Port Blair was the summer headquarters of the Chief Commissioner during British Raj. This place is ideal for fascinating overview of the nearby islands and the sea. It is the highest peak in the South Andamans (365 mts. high). At Mount Harriet, there is a Forest Guest House where tourists can take rest and refresh themselves.

RADHANGAR BEACH

Radhanagar Beach lies on the south coast of Havelock Island. It is about 12 kilometers from the Islands ferry pier. Radhanagar is a Grade A beach of outstanding quality. This beach is also rated as one of the best beaches in Asia by TIME Magazine. It has an overall length of two kilometers and an average width of 30 to 40 meters. The sand is white and very fine in grain. The beach has a gentle gradient of around 1:20 and continues out into the sea as a sandy bottom for over 100 meters.

ELEPHANTA BEACH

This beach is another ideal site for snorkeling. It has a rich coral reef formation and amazing underwater marine life. One can reach Elephant beach by small cruise boat from Havelock Jetty in about 40 minutes. By road one can go up to the Forest Camp which is 8 Kms from the Jetty towards Radhanagar side and from there by walk to the Elephant beach which will take another 40 minutes. Private ferry operators organize tours to Elephant beach from Havelock.

KALAPATHER BEACH

This beautiful silver sandy beach located 12 km from Havelock jetty is slowly gaining visitors footfall, though proper facilities are yet to be established.

LAKSHMANPUR BEACH

The secluded beach of Lakshmanpur lies 2 km north of the Neil jetty. The beach is a broad spur of white shell sand with shallow water and offers a good snorkeling option. Sunbathing and swimming are other activities. One can view spectacular sun-set from this beach. This rocky beach lies about two kilometers from the jetty with lots of coral formation , ornamental fish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, star fish etc. which are best suited for people of scientific temperament. The rocky surface can get slippery and one needs to be on ones guard. The main attraction here is the natural rock formations.

BHARATPUR BEACH

Half a kilometer from the jetty, Bharatpur is one of the best beaches known for swimming and coral-watching with a vast sandy stretch. This beach is ideally recommended for youngsters because of activity options. One can hire glass-bottom boats for coral viewing. The Sea around the Jetty area is full of corals with schools of fish swimming around. The colour and form of vegetation along the beach soothes the senses.

SITAPUR BEACH

This beach is exposed to the open sea and thus prone to higher tides. It is 5 kilometers to the south and at the tip of the island. This beach is best suited to watch the sunrise with an impressive backdrop of natural vegetation and limestone formations. The journey from the Jetty to Sitapur beach itself is refreshing with green fields and a variety of crops and forest trees.

NATURAL ROCK FORMATION

A natural rock formation in Laxmanpur beach is locally known as the Howrah Bridge. Visit the place during low tide as the retreating sea leaves behind many a secret from its treasure trove.