| Address | Shadipur 744106, India |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 11.6661, 92.7464 |
| Category | Planning |
| Nearest city | Regional hub - biggest city in its area |
| Region | Andaman and Nicobar, India |
| Sources | geonames |
Port Blair Travel Guide
Port Blair is a city in Shadipur, India, home to about 112,050 residents. This guide covers how to visit it, what to expect and how to build a day around it.
Port Blair at a Glance
- What it is: city (travel destination)
- Where it is: Shadipur 744106, India — coordinates 11.6661, 92.7464
- Why it is listed: a source-verified entry in the CollabsTravel master database, matched against official gazetteer and geographic records before publication
- Time needed: a couple of hours
- Best season: May to September
Quick Facts
| Place type | City |
| Also good for | Planning |
| County / region | Shadipur |
| Region / state | Andaman and Nicobar |
| Country | India |
| Postal address | Shadipur 744106, India |
| Population | 112,050 |
| Coordinates | 11.6661, 92.7464 |
Why Port Blair Is Worth Visiting
Port Blair earns its place in this guide for a simple reason: it is a verified destination in Andaman and Nicobar, India, and with roughly 112,050 residents it functions as a full-service base rather than a dot on the map - hotels, restaurants and transit all exist here. With 4 other verified places within 150 km, it anchors a cluster instead of standing alone. Visitors book it for planning as much as for destination. And unlike listicle recommendations, everything on this page - coordinates, category, sources - was checked against official records before publication.
About Port Blair
In plain terms, Port Blair is a city in the Shadipur area of Andaman and Nicobar, India that travellers book around destination trips. It is a settled place of about 112,050 people, which means shops, fuel and basic services exist locally rather than only in the next county. Beyond its main draw, the record tags it for planning too, so it rewards more than one kind of visit. Postal addressing runs through Shadipur (744106). Everything stated on this page comes from that verified record; where background history is quoted, the source is named at the end of the section.
The Story of Port Blair: History & Background
Port Blair , officially named Sri Vijaya Puram (Hindi pronunciation: ), is the capital city of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is located on the South Andaman Island situated between the Bay of Bengal to the west and the Andaman Sea to the east. It is located approximately 1,190 km (740 mi) from Chennai and 1,255 km (780 mi) from Kolkata in mainland India. It is the headquarters of the South Andaman district, and the union territory's only notified town.
The town is home to the Veer Savarkar International Airport, the only major airport in the islands, and Port Blair Port, and serves as the major gateway for the islands. It is home to the air base INS Utkrosh and the naval base INS Jarawa of the Indian Navy, and the Andaman and Nicobar Command, the only integrated tri-command of the Indian Armed Forces.
The indigenous inhabitants of the region were the Andamanese. In the late 18th century, the British colonised the Andaman Islands, and established a naval base, and a penal colony, which was abandoned two years later. On 22 February 1858, the British re-established a colony at Port Blair, and a new penal colony was established on the Ross Island near Port Blair, mainly to house the prisoners of the Indian rebellion of 1857. In 1872, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were united under a single command and administered by a chief commissioner based at Port Blair. The Cellular Jail was completed in 1906, and used to house political prisoners and independence activists. During Second World War, the Japanese captured Port Blair on 23 March 1942, and it was retaken by the British on 7 October 1945. After India became independent in 1947, the Andaman and Nicobar islands became part of the Dominion of India, and later a union territory with the capital at Port Blair.
The city was named after Archibald Blair, an officer of the Royal Indian Navy, who colonised the region in the late 18th century. On 13 September 2024, the Government of India officially renamed the city to Sri Vijaya Puram.
Lead passage from the Wikipedia article "Port Blair", reused under CC BY-SA 4.0 with a coordinate-verified name match; the source article carries the full referenced history.
The Beauty of Port Blair
What people mean when they call Port Blair beautiful is usually the setting itself - the land, water and sky that put the place on maps. The light does most of the work: low-latitude light keeps greens deep and skies dramatic; the difference between hours, not seasons, drives the look. The seasons restyle everything around it - each season repaints it - plan the visit around the colour you want in your photos. And the beauty compounds with context: with 4 other verified places nearby, the Shadipur area reads as one continuous landscape rather than a single viewpoint, which is worth more than any filter on the photos you take here.
Getting There
Port Blair sits at 11.6661, 92.7464 in Shadipur, India. Most visitors reach it by car, regional rail or local transit; pin the coordinates above rather than only the name - Port Blair names repeat across regions, and rural entries often lack street addresses.
The nearest postal locality is Shadipur (744106), which is what local directions and navigation apps will reference.
Best Time to Visit
Late spring to early autumn (May to September) brings the warmest and most reliable conditions across India. Shoulder months just before and after that window trade a little weather for noticeably lower prices and thinner crowds.
Port Blair Season by Season
- Summer (Jun-Aug) - peak season: the warmest, longest days and everything open, which also makes it the priciest and busiest window
- Autumn (Sep-Nov) - shoulder season: crowds drain away, the light turns photographic, and lodging rates typically fall
- Winter (Dec-Feb) - off-season: cheapest beds and empty viewpoints, but check for closures, snow or rain before committing
- Spring (Mar-May) - rebuild season: wildflowers, newborn wildlife and reopened facilities - the best balance if the weather holds
Things to Do
Planning what to actually do at Port Blair comes down to the setting it sits in:
- Arrive with the exact coordinates (11.6661, 92.7464) pinned in your maps app — rural place names repeat across states
- Give the site one unhurried hour before adding anything else to the day
- Pair it with the nearest named attraction on this page to make a full loop
- Chain the stop with what is nearby — see the list below before fixing your day route
None of this needs a rigid schedule - the honest pattern at Port Blair is one anchor at the nearest anchor town, one longer stop, and the rest of the time left for whatever looks better from the car window. That flexibility is what separates a good half-day from a rushed one.
A Perfect Day in Port Blair
Morning (start early). Have breakfast at Port Blair and roll out before mid-morning - the light is softer, parking is open, and Port Blair is at its quietest before the day-trippers arrive. Give the main stop its full due first rather than saving it for later.
Midday. From Port Blair, Mount Kurtz is only 67 km away - pair the two rather than driving home for lunch; a picnic beats a reservation near most of these spots.
Afternoon. Keep going to Mount Oldham (92 km) if the group still has legs; it is the standard second half of this loop.
Golden hour. End at the main viewpoint, waterfront or main street as the light drops; this is the hour Port Blair is genuinely famous for locally, and it costs nothing.
Evening. Sleep at Port Blair unless the road out is long - leaving at dusk is the one mistake that can flatten an otherwise perfect day.
Know Before You Go to Port Blair
- Save the pin (11.6661, 92.7464) offline - reception in Shadipur is exactly as good as it needs to be and no better
- Check the official source listed at the bottom of this page for current hours, fees and closures before driving out
- Visit on weekdays: at most verified spots weekends triple the local traffic
- Bring the basics - water, layers, power bank - because facilities at this kind of place are self-service
- Urban scale changes the game: transit passes beat car rentals inside the centre
Nearby Places Worth Combining
Port Blair does not sit in isolation - these verified places are all within a short hop and combine into a full loop:
- Mount Kurtz — place, about 67 km (42 mi) away
- Mount Oldham — place, about 92 km (57 mi) away
- Mount Wood — place, about 107 km (67 mi) away
- Māyābandar — place, about 139 km (87 mi) away
Planning More of Your Trip
See everything in India on the India country hub, or explore more of the region from this hub's listings.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Port Blair worth visiting?+
Yes, if you are in the area for more than a single day. Port Blair is a verified city in Andaman and Nicobar, India that most drive-by lists miss, and the official-record provenance behind this page means the location, name and access facts are checked rather than guessed. Give it a couple of hours.
Where exactly is Port Blair?+
Port Blair sits at Shadipur 744106, India, coordinates 11.6661, 92.7464. The postal locality is Shadipur - use the coordinates rather than the name alone, because place names repeat across regions and a map pin beats a keyword search.
How far is Port Blair from the nearest city?+
The nearest named base on this guide is close enough that distance is not the constraint; the Quick Facts table lists the exact road-town km, and every place here is reachable as a same-day loop from a regional hub.
What is the best time to visit Port Blair?+
May to September. Book the shoulder months either side of that window for the same scenery at lower prices, and check seasonal closures before fixing dates.
How long do you need at Port Blair?+
Plan on a couple of hours for a first visit - the highlights at a normal pace without rushing. Add another half day if you want to combine it with the nearby places listed above.
Is Port Blair good for families with kids?+
It works with kids who have patience for the setting; judge it by your shortest-attention traveller and keep the visit to the first highlight.
Does Port Blair cost anything to visit?+
Most public places like this have no entry fee, but parking, guided programs and seasonal shuttles are the usual small costs. Confirm current fees with the official source cited on this page - they change more often than guidebooks do.
What is near Port Blair?+
The closest verified neighbour is Mount Kurtz; the nearby list above has the full set with distances, and combining two or three of them is the standard way to fill a day around Port Blair.
Is Port Blair open to visitors, and do you need a permit?+
Public places listed here are visitable by default; the permit exceptions are usually specific activities (backcountry camping, drones, commercial photography) rather than the visit itself. Check the cited official source for anything activity-based.
Should you visit Port Blair in bad weather?+
Rain reshapes rather than ruins the day - viewpoints become cloud-scapes and trails get muddy. Keep Port Blair as a fair-weather item on your trip and swap in the covered alternatives from the regional list when the forecast turns.
What makes Port Blair different from other places like it?+
Its exact combination: a city in Andaman and Nicobar, India with verified coordinates and, where listed, an official designation. The difference is usually the setting and the access pattern rather than the category label - the facts table on this page shows that specifically.
Can you visit Port Blair as a day trip?+
Yes - at a couple of hours on site, a day loop is realistic: morning at Port Blair, one nearby stop, and home by evening. The Perfect Day section above has the hour-by-hour version.
What is Port Blair known for?+
In the wider record, city-class place: Port Blair , officially named Sri Vijaya Puram (Hindi pronunciation: ), is the capital city of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. This guide adds the practical layer - verified coordinates, access, seasonality and what to combine it with.
What is the most beautiful thing about Port Blair?+
The honest short answer is in The Beauty of Port Blair section above, but distilled: what people mean when they call port blair beautiful is usually the setting itself - the land, water and sky that put the place on maps. Come for the light and the setting rather than a single checklist object.
Is Port Blair crowded?+
Port Blair sits below the headline-name tier in its region, so crowding is an event-and-weekend problem rather than a standing one. Weekday mornings in the shoulder season are the quietest version of the visit.
What is the history of Port Blair?+
The sourced background above places documented events for Port Blair around 1858 at the earliest point its article dates; for the full timeline with references, the linked Wikipedia article is the primary trail and this guide keeps the practical travel layer on top of it. ## Source Verification This guide's facts come from official public datasets: [Geonames record 1259385](https://www.geonames.org/1259385). Location data is reviewed in per-state batches before publication.