Overview
About Cellular Jail National Memorial
Cellular Jail is the reason most first-time visitors put Port Blair on the itinerary, and it is the one stop nobody leaves unmoved. Built by the British between 1896 and 1906 on a low headland at Atlanta Point, it was designed for one purpose: to break political prisoners by keeping them entirely alone. Seven three-storey wings radiated from a central watchtower like the spokes of a wheel, and every one of the 693 cells faced the blank back wall of the wing opposite, so no prisoner could see or signal another. The name comes from that design — cellular, single, solitary.
Three of the seven wings survive. The 1941 earthquake, Japanese occupation during the Second World War and post-independence demolition took the rest, and what is left was declared a National Memorial in 1979. You walk the corridors past cells barely three metres by two, climb the central tower for the view the guards had over every wing at once, and stand in the room where the gallows still hang — three nooses, side by side. Names are everywhere: Batukeshwar Dutt, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Sher Ali, the Manipuri and Wahhabi prisoners transported here long before the freedom movement had a name.
Give the museum galleries proper time. The photo and document rooms on the ground floor, the oil-mill yard where prisoners were harnessed to grind coconut, and the memorial flame in the courtyard put the architecture in context in a way the cells alone do not. Most visitors budget an hour and end up staying two.
Come back after dark for the Light & Sound show in the courtyard. The old peepal tree in the yard narrates, the wings light up in sequence, and the whole story runs about an hour. It is genuinely well done, tickets are limited, and it sells out on cruise-arrival days — book it the moment your Port Blair evening is confirmed.
Why people come here
- The surviving three wings and the central watchtower panorama
- Original solitary cells, gallows room and the oil-mill yard
- Museum galleries on transportation, the 1857 prisoners and the freedom movement
- Evening Light & Sound show narrated from the courtyard
- Sea-facing rampart walk looking across to Ross Island
Things to do
What to do here
Walk the surviving wings
Start at the entrance gallery, work outward along a wing to the far cells, then climb the central tower. The tower is where the seven-spoke plan finally makes sense.
The museum and photo galleries
Transportation records, prisoner lists, punishment implements and the 1857 material. The most affecting room in the complex, and the one people skip when they are rushed.
Light & Sound show
An hour-long narration in the courtyard with the wings lit in sequence. Seats are open-air and limited; arrive twenty minutes early for a decent row.
Sunset from the sea-facing wall
The rampart on the harbour side looks straight across at Ross Island. The last hour of light before the evening show is the best of the day here.
Getting there
How to reach
From Port Blair town
Ten minutes by auto or cab from Aberdeen Bazaar; walkable in about 25 minutes from most central hotels.
From the airport
Veer Savarkar International Airport is 5 km away — roughly 15 minutes by cab.
On a city tour
Almost every Port Blair half-day tour opens here and pairs it with the museums and Corbyn's Cove.
Best time to visit · October to May, mornings or late afternoon
The wings hold heat and there is almost no shade in the courtyard, so 9–11 am or after 3 pm is far more comfortable. The site stays open through the monsoon; only the outdoor evening show is weather-dependent.
Good to know
Travel tips
- Closed on Mondays — build your Port Blair day around that, it catches people out constantly.
- Buy the Light & Sound ticket earlier in the day; the counter closes well before the show.
- Carry water. There is a stall at the entrance but nothing inside the wings.
- Hire the licensed guide at the gate if history matters to you — the cells mean far more with the stories attached.
- Dress respectfully. This is a memorial to people who died here, and local visitors treat it as one.
Gallery
Cellular Jail National Memorial in pictures
Port Blair (South Andaman)
Combine it with
Tour packages
