Ross Island (Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep): A Complete Visitor Guide

Most ruins are fenced off and labelled. Ross Island is the opposite — you walk straight through it. The headquarters of an entire island territory was abandoned in the 1940s and left to the forest, so what survives is a colonial town being slowly pulled apart by giant ficus and banyan roots: walls held together by timber-thick roots, a Presbyterian church open to the sky, the shell of the Chief Commissioner’s bungalow, a bakery, a bazaar, a printing press and a swimming pool now green with moss.

It is also unexpectedly alive. A resident herd of spotted deer and a population of peacocks move freely across the lawns and ruins, used enough to visitors to come close — which makes the island a favourite with families and photographers. Paved paths loop the small island in under an hour at a stroll, with sea views opening at Ferrar Beach on the far side. Add the small museum and the evening sound-and-light show and a flat, walkable history lesson fills a comfortable half day out of Port Blair.

Ross Island was named by the British after marine surveyor Daniel Ross (1780–1849), who charted these waters. Its modern story begins in 1858, when the British shifted a penal settlement to Port Blair in the aftermath of the 1857 uprising. Captain J. P. Walker landed on 6 March 1858 with 773 convicts, and Ross Island was chosen as the administrative nerve centre for the whole penal colony — the officers’ island, kept deliberately separate from the prisoners held across the harbour at the Cellular Jail.

Over the next eighty-odd years it grew into a self-contained colonial town. The hilltop carried the Government House and the Chief Commissioner’s residence; below them sat a Presbyterian church, a bazaar, a bakery, a printing press, a secretariat, a hospital, troop barracks, a tennis court, a cemetery and even a swimming pool — comforts that earned it the nickname “Paris of the East.” An earthquake in 1941 shook the settlement, and in 1942 Japanese forces occupied the island during the Second World War, turning the Government House into the admiral’s residence and building the concrete bunkers that still dot the shoreline. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose visited the occupied island from 29 to 31 December 1943 and hoisted the Indian tricolour at the Government House.

After the war the British largely abandoned Ross Island, and by 1945–46 the administration had moved to the mainland of Port Blair. The Indian Navy now administers the island through the shore base INS Jarawa; there is no civilian settlement and no overnight stay. On 30 December 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi renamed it Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep in honour of the freedom fighter (per the Government of India announcement), though most ferry tickets, signboards and travellers still use the name Ross Island.

The whole island is the attraction, but five things are worth slowing down for:

Separate from the daytime visit, Ross Island runs an evening Light & Sound Show that narrates the island’s colonial and wartime history across the lit-up ruins. It is a different ticket and a different boat from the day trip — you sail across in the late afternoon, watch the show after dusk, and return on the same boat. Plan it as an evening activity, not as an add-on to a morning Ross + North Bay tour.

If you only have one Ross Island slot, here is how our writers would call it. The daytime visit gives you the ruins, the museum and the wildlife at your own pace; the show is the better pick if you are travelling with first-time visitors who want the history told to them. And if your itinerary has room, do the day trip and keep the show for a separate evening.

Ross Island has two cost layers. One is the Forest Department entry fee you pay on the island; the other is the ferry or boat fare you pay at the jetty. Here is the full picture for a day visit:

A typical daytime Ross + North Bay outing therefore works out to roughly ₹400–650 per adult all-in, before any water sports you add at North Bay. Fees are revised periodically, so treat these as planning figures and confirm the day’s rates at the Water Sports Complex counter.

All boats to Ross Island leave from the Rajiv Gandhi Water Sports Complex (also called Aberdeen Jetty) in central Port Blair — not from the main Haddo or Phoenix Bay passenger jetties used for Havelock and Neil. Here is the step-by-step:

1. Get to Port Blair first. Fly into Veer Savarkar International Airport (IXZ); the Water Sports Complex is a 10–15 minute drive from the airport or the town centre.
2.  Buy the Ross + North Bay boat ticket. Book at the Water Sports Complex counter (open ~9:00 AM–3:00 PM) or through a tour operator. The day’s first boat is usually around 8:30 AM and the last leaves by mid-afternoon.
3.  Reach the jetty at least 45–60 minutes early. Boarding involves life jackets and a short safety briefing, and morning slots fill up in peak season.
4.  Cross to Ross Island. The boat ride takes 15–20 minutes across the harbour. Most government boats club Ross Island with North Bay Island on the same outing.
5.  Pay the entry fee and walk the loop. Allow 1.5–2 hours on the island for the ruins, the Smritika Museum, the bunkers and the deer; the paved circuit is flat and easy.
6.  Catch your return boat. Confirm your pickup time before you wander off — boats run to a schedule and won’t wait. If you want the Light & Sound Show, that is a separate evening boat and ticket.

If you have to pick one Ross Island experience, this is the trade-off our readers weigh up:

Ross Island is an outdoor, walk-everywhere site, so weather decides the experience. The dry, cooler window from October to March is the clear pick.

Within a day, go in the morning for the cooler temperatures and the best light on the ruins, or book the evening Light & Sound Show for the sunset crossing. Avoid the middle of a clear afternoon — there is little shade once you leave the museum.

Ross Island is rarely a trip on its own. The same government boat that drops you here continues to North Bay Island, the snorkelling and water-sports stop with India’s coral-viewing glass-bottom boats and sea-walk — so the standard half-day is Ross Island for history first, North Bay for the water second. Back in Port Blair, the Cellular Jail National Memorial (the prison Ross Island’s officers once oversaw) and its own evening light-and-sound show round out the historical picture, and Corbyn’s Cove is the nearest town beach.

If you are still shaping the wider trip, our Andaman travel guide maps out the islands, the best time to go and how many days you need, and our Andaman tour packages let you fold Ross Island, North Bay and the Cellular Jail into a customisable Port Blair leg without piecing the boats together yourself.

• Carry cash. Counter fees and small purchases are cash-first; there are no reliable ATMs on the island.
• Wear comfortable shoes and a hat. You are on your feet on uneven paths with limited shade — sunscreen and a water bottle help.
• Don’t feed or chase the deer and peacocks. They are habituated but wild; keep a respectful distance, especially with children.
• Time your return boat. Boats leave on a fixed schedule and will not wait — note your pickup slot before exploring.
• No overnight stay. The Navy administers the island and there is no accommodation; base yourself in Port Blair.
• Check the day’s schedule. Wednesday is often the paused day for the Ross–North Bay boats, and the show runs on select evenings only.

Ross Island packs a surprising amount into a half day — a whole colonial capital being reclaimed by the forest, eight decades of history from penal colony to wartime occupation to independence, and tame deer wandering the ruins of a swimming pool. Go in the morning for the walk or book the evening show for the story, pair it with North Bay, and keep your return-boat time handy.