Port Blair is the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the place almost every visitor passes through. It is not a beach-resort town, and that is part of its value. Ferries, naval compounds, Bengali sweet shops, Tamil restaurants, government offices, and old colonial scars all crowd around a harbour that still feels like the edge of India.
The Cellular Jail is the reason to give the city proper time. Its long brick wings held Indian independence prisoners in solitary cells, and the museum is sobering without needing much embellishment. Across the water, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Island has the ruined British administrative centre slowly being taken back by roots and salt air.
Port Blair also works as a practical base. Boats leave for Havelock, Neil Island, and other parts of the Andamans, while shorter stops such as Chatham Saw Mill, Samudrika Naval Marine Museum, and Corbyn's Cove fill the gaps between ferries. Most travellers move on quickly, but one spare day here is well spent.