The Andaman Islands are known for turquoise water and white sand — but the same coastline holds one of India's most affecting collections of historical sites. A short drive or ferry ride from Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) takes you to colonial prisons, an abandoned British capital, World War II bunkers, martyrs' memorials, and museums that document some of the world's oldest surviving tribal cultures. This guide walks you through every landmark worth your time, what to see at each, and how to fit them into your itinerary on the islands.
Why Andaman's History Deserves a Place in Your Itinerary
Most travellers arrive in the Andamans with beaches on their mind and leave surprised by how much history they have walked past. The archipelago was a British penal colony from 1858, the only Indian territory occupied by Japanese forces during World War II, and the first place where the Indian tricolour was raised on soil claimed as free — by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on 30 December 1943.
The practical advantage is that almost every major heritage site sits in or around Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair), your arrival and departure city. That means you can build a full day of historical sightseeing into an itinerary without losing a single beach day. Most of our andaman and nicobar tour packages already include the Cellular Jail and the Light and Sound Show on day one, precisely because it works so neatly around flight timings.
Also Read: Places to visit in andaman and nicobar
Historical places in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
| Landmark | Period | Known For | Time Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cellular Jail National Memorial | 1896–1906 | India's freedom struggle | 2–3 hours |
| Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island (Ross Island) | 1858–1941 | British administrative capital | 2–3 hours |
| Viper Island | 1860s onwards | Early penal settlement and gallows | 1–2 hours |
| Chatham Saw Mill | 1883 | Asia's oldest working sawmill | 1–1.5 hours |
| Forest Museum, Chatham | Modern | Timber and forestry heritage | 30–45 min |
| Anthropological Museum | Modern | Indigenous tribes of the islands | 1–2 hours |
| Samudrika Naval Marine Museum | Modern | Marine and island history | 1–2 hours |
| Japanese Bunkers | 1942–1945 | World War II defences | 20–30 min |
| Balidan Vedi, Humfrygunj | 1943 | Martyrs of the Japanese occupation | 30 min |
| Mount Manipur (Mount Harriet) | Colonial era | Exile site and highest peak in South Andaman | 2–3 hours |
| Aberdeen Clock Tower & Bazaar | Colonial era | Port Blair's historic centre | 30 min |
| Netaji Flag Point, Marina Park | 1943 | First unfurling of the tricolour | 30 min |
1. Cellular Jail National Memorial, Sri Vijaya Puram
If you visit one historical site in the Andamans, this is it. Built by the British between 1896 and 1906, the Cellular Jail — known across India as Kala Pani — was designed for a single purpose: isolation. Its 693 cells were arranged so that no prisoner could see or speak to another, and each cell faced only the blank back wall of the neighbouring wing.
Seven wings once radiated from the central watchtower. Three survive today, preserved as a National Memorial to the freedom fighters held here, among them Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and Batukeshwar Dutt.
What to see: the preserved cells and Savarkar's own cell, the central watchtower, the gallows, the museum galleries of photographs and prison records, the Swatantrya Jyot eternal flame, and the oil mill where prisoners were made to grind coconut oil as punishment.
Don't miss: the evening Light and Sound Show, which narrates the jail's history through the voice of an old peepal tree standing in the courtyard. Seats are limited and shows run in Hindi and English on alternate slots, so it is worth having this pre-booked as part of your package rather than turning up on the night.
Plan Your Trip
Andaman Oasis Escape (Budget) — Sri Vijaya Puram & Swaraj Dweep A 3 nights / 4 days introduction to the islands that opens with Corbyn's Cove, the Cellular Jail and the Light and Sound Show, then moves to Radhanagar Beach on Havelock before a full Port Blair city tour covering the Saw Mill and Fisheries Museum. From ₹18,827 for 2 guests, all ferries, permits, entry tickets and private AC transfers included. View the Andaman Oasis Escape package → Book with just 20% upfront. Balance after your package is confirmed.
2. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island (Ross Island)
Two kilometres off Sri Vijaya Puram and roughly ten minutes by boat from Aberdeen Jetty, this small island was the seat of British power in the Andamans for close to nine decades. Settled in 1858, it held the Chief Commissioner's residence, a church, a bakery, a printing press, a swimming pool, tennis courts and officers' quarters — an entire administrative town, once nicknamed the Paris of the East.
The 1941 earthquake and the Japanese occupation that followed emptied it. What remains is one of the most photogenic ruins in India: brick arches and church walls swallowed whole by banyan roots, with spotted deer and peacocks wandering the pathways. The island was renamed Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island in 2018.
What to see: the church ruins, the Chief Commissioner's residence, the old bakery and printing press, the cemetery, the Japanese bunkers on the ridge, and the small Smritika museum of colonial-era photographs and memorabilia.
Tip: pair this with the Cellular Jail. Take the morning boat to the island, return by afternoon, and be back at the jail in time for the evening show. It is the single most efficient heritage day in the Andamans.
3. Viper Island
Before the Cellular Jail existed, Viper Island was where the British held convicts and political prisoners. The island takes its name from HMS Viper, a vessel wrecked near its shores in the late eighteenth century, and it carried a jail and a hilltop gallows that were in use through the 1860s and 1870s.
The ruins are more weathered than those on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island, and the mood is starker. Stone foundations, the remains of the gallows platform and the old jail walls sit above a quiet harbour view. Access is by boat from Sri Vijaya Puram and is subject to operational and weather clearance, so confirm before you plan around it.
4. Chatham Saw Mill and the Forest Museum
Established in 1883 on Chatham Island, this is one of the oldest and largest sawmills in Asia and still a working one. The British built it to process Andaman padauk, gurjan and satinwood for construction and shipbuilding across the empire, and it drove the islands' first industrialisation.
Chatham also carries a scar from the Second World War: a preserved bomb crater from the Japanese aerial bombing of the mill.
Within the same complex sits the Forest Museum, run by the Andaman & Nicobar Forest Department. It displays timber samples, wooden handicrafts, models of native tree species and exhibits on sustainable forestry — a genuinely good stop with children, and a short one at 30 to 45 minutes.
Plan Your Trip
Tropical Treasures of Andaman (Standard) — Sri Vijaya Puram & Swaraj Dweep 5 nights / 6 days built for travellers who want the heritage circuit and the beaches without rushing either. Cellular Jail and the Light and Sound Show on arrival, then Radhanagar, Kalapathar and Elephant Beach on Havelock with complimentary snorkelling. From ₹33,205 for 2 guests, including Makruzz ferry transfers, entry tickets and permits. View the Tropical Treasures package → Directly contracted hotels. No wholesalers in between.
5. Anthropological Museum, Sri Vijaya Puram
The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are home to six indigenous communities — the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, Nicobarese and Shompen — several of whom have lived here for tens of thousands of years. The Anthropological Museum is the only place a visitor can responsibly learn about them.
Its galleries hold hunting and fishing implements, bark clothing and ornaments, scale models of traditional dwellings, and archival photographs from early ethnographic surveys. It is a museum that rewards slow reading of the information panels rather than a quick walk-through.
A note worth making: the law prohibits contact with these communities, and it closes tribal reserves to tourists. The museum exists precisely so that curiosity has somewhere legitimate to go.
6. Samudrika Naval Marine Museum
Run by the Indian Navy, Samudrika covers the islands from a different angle — geology, marine biodiversity, archaeology, geography and strategic history. Coral and shell collections, island formation models, marine conservation displays and maps of the archipelago make this the best orientation stop for a first-time visitor, ideally on day one before you head out to the islands.
7. Japanese Bunkers: Remnants of World War II
Japanese forces occupied the Andamans from 1942 to 1945, making them the only part of India held during the war. Reinforced concrete bunkers were built across strategic points — coastal approaches, ridgelines and harbour views — and many still stand.
You will find them on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island, along the road to Corbyn's Cove, and at scattered points around Sri Vijaya Puram. Individually they are short stops of twenty minutes, but together they reshape how you read the islands' landscape.
Plan Your Trip
Andaman Coastal Crusade (Budget) — Sri Vijaya Puram & Swaraj Dweep A coastline-first itinerary across Port Blair and Havelock, mixing water sports and beach time with the island's colonial and wartime landmarks. A comfortable fit for couples, and one of our most-requested andaman honeymoon packages for travellers who want more than just resort days. View the Andaman Coastal Crusade package → Speak to our team for live pricing on your travel dates.
8. Balidan Vedi, Humfrygunj
Less visited than it deserves to be. During the Japanese occupation, 44 members of the Indian Independence League were taken from the Cellular Jail on suspicion of espionage and executed at Humfrygunj, on the road to Wandoor. They were buried in an L-shaped mass grave.
The Balidan Vedi memorial now marks the site — a quiet, sobering stop that most sightseeing circuits skip. If you are already driving to Wandoor for the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park, it costs you almost nothing to include it.
9. Mount Manipur (Mount Harriet)
The highest peak in South Andaman, at roughly 365 metres, was long known as Mount Harriet after Harriet Tytler, wife of the British superintendent of the penal settlement. In 2021 it was renamed Mount Manipur in honour of Maharaja Kulachandra Dhwaja Singh and 22 Manipuri freedom fighters exiled here after the Anglo-Manipur War of 1891.
The peak served as the British summer administrative headquarters, and the view from the top — the one printed on the reverse of the ₹20 note — takes in Ross Island, North Bay and the harbour. The Mount Harriet–Madhuban trek through the national park is worth the early start if you enjoy walking.
Also Read: Top 10 Must-Visit Attractions in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
10. Aberdeen Clock Tower and Aberdeen Bazaar
Aberdeen Bazaar is the historic commercial heart of Sri Vijaya Puram, and the obelisk-shaped Aberdeen Clock Tower at its centre — bright yellow, with four faces — was built in memory of soldiers who served in the First World War. Combine it with an hour of shopping for shell craft, padauk woodwork and local spices.
11. Netaji Flag Point, Marina Park
On 30 December 1943, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose raised the Indian tricolour at Port Blair, declaring the Andamans the first liberated Indian territory under the Azad Hind government. A memorial and flagstaff at Marina Park mark the moment. The nearby Param Vir Chakra Memorial, India's first, honors the recipients of the country's highest gallantry award.
How to Fit the Heritage Circuit into Your Trip
Day 1 (arrival day): Samudrika Naval Marine Museum → Anthropological Museum → Corbyn's Cove → Cellular Jail Light and Sound Show in the evening. This works around almost any morning flight arrival.
Day 2: Morning boat to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island and North Bay → afternoon at Chatham Saw Mill and the Forest Museum → Aberdeen Clock Tower and bazaar.
Optional half-day: Mount Manipur, or Balidan Vedi combined with the drive to Wandoor.
That leaves your remaining days entirely free for Swaraj Dweep (Havelock) and Shaheed Dweep (Neil). Travelling with parents and children, this pacing matters more than anything else — which is why our andaman and nicobar package for family itineraries put the museums and memorials on the arrival and departure days, when energy is lower and the beaches would be wasted anyway.
Practical Tips Before You Go
- Book the Light and Sound Show ahead. Seating is limited and the show sells out in peak season.
- Check ferry and boat timings daily. Services to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island and Viper Island are weather-dependent and schedules change.
- Museums close on Mondays and public holidays. Verify the schedule before planning your day around it.
- Carry photo ID. Photo ID is required at several sites, including all jetty and permit checkpoints.
- Don't compress everything into one day. Two half-days is far better than one exhausting full day.
- Photography rules vary. Some galleries prohibit it entirely; look for the signage at each entrance.
- Respect the structures. These are protected monuments and graves, not climbing frames.
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