Andaman and Nicobar Islands

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are a union territory of India, an archipelago in the Bay of Bengal far off the eastern coast. Their capital is Port Blair. Remote and richly biodiverse, the islands are known for pristine beaches, coral reefs and some of the world's most isolated Indigenous peoples.

The territory comprises hundreds of tropical islands, of which only a few dozen are inhabited, stretching in a long chain between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. Dense rainforest, mangroves and coral reefs cover much of the land and surrounding waters. The climate is tropical.

The islands are home to several ancient Indigenous tribes, some of whom remain uncontacted, alongside settlers from mainland India. The culture is a mix of tribal heritage and migrant communities, with the sea central to daily life and a growing eco-tourism scene.

The islands were used by the British as the notorious Cellular Jail penal colony for Indian independence activists. Devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, they remain a strategically important and ecologically sensitive Indian territory.