Ross Island (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep)

Ross Island lies at the entrance to Port Blair harbour in the South Andaman district of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a short ferry ride from the Aberdeen Jetty area. It covers only about 0.3 square kilometres. In 2018 the Government of India renamed it Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep, after the independence leader who raised the Indian national flag in Port Blair in 1943.

After the 1857 uprising, the British set up a penal settlement in the Andamans, and from 1858 Ross Island became the seat of the colonial administration. The island was named after the marine surveyor Daniel Ross. Over the following decades it gained the Chief Commissioner's residence, a church, a bakery, a hospital, barracks, a printing press, tennis courts and a swimming pool, earning it the nickname Paris of the East among officials.

The settlement declined after a strong earthquake in 1941 damaged many buildings, and Japanese forces occupied the islands from 1942 to 1945. The British administration did not return to the island after the war. Since 1979 it has been under the Indian Navy, which manages visitor access.

Today visitors walk paved paths among roofless brick buildings held together by the roots of large fig trees. The ruined church, the Chief Commissioner's house, the old cemetery and the water treatment plant are among the clearest remains. Spotted deer and peacocks roam freely, and a small museum near the jetty, Smritika, displays photographs and records from the colonial period. A sound and light show on the island's history is held in the evening.

Boats run from Port Blair during the day, and the island is normally closed to visitors on one weekday. Entry costs about ₹50 per adult, paid at the island counter. Allow two to three hours for the walk and the museum.

An hour's loop from the bakery to the Japanese bunkers

A loop of the island on foot takes about an hour without stops. Walk up past the bakery and the Chief Commissioner's house to the church, then down to the Japanese bunkers on the seaward side, built during the wartime occupation. The paths are shaded, but the climb is steady and humid, so carry water.

Combine the island with the Cellular Jail in Sri Vijaya Puram, whose own evening light and sound show tells the story of the freedom fighters held there.