Interview Island

Interview Island lies about 125 km north of Port Blair, west of the Austen Strait that divides North and Middle Andaman. It covers some 101 square kilometres, sloping up from a low northern end to a wooded plateau 113 metres high, with a rocky pinnacle off its southern cliffs. The 2004 tsunami flooded much of the island and badly damaged its lighthouse, which was later restored.

The island is known for its feral elephants, descendants of animals brought in for forestry work and left behind; estimates of their number range from a dozen to around ninety. It was opened to tourists in 1997, but there is no settlement beyond a single household, and only forest wardens, police and coast guards are stationed here to deter poachers. The crossing is by dinghy from Mayabunder and takes about three hours.