The name Narcondam could have been derived from the Tamil word naraka-kundram (நரககுன்றம்),[7] meaning "a pit of Hell," although this may be the result of confusion between it and Barren Island.

This claim was given up on reaching agreement with India on the delimitation of the maritime boundary between the two nations in the Andaman Sea, the Coco channel and the Bay of Bengal.

The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake is thought to have caused magma to move underground and may be related to the current activity.

Narcondam Island belongs to the North and Middle Andaman administrative district,[12] and is part of Diglipur Taluk.

Narcondam's prime dive sites include rocky ridges and steep slopes like Chimneys, Ooh La La and Lighthouse Reef, where massive barrel sponges, huge gorgonian fans and lush soft corals thrive.

Fish life can include Napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish and mantas, as well as occasional whitetip and gray reef sharks.

Another special place is HQ Pinnacle, where a submerged rock formation acts as a magnet for dogtooth tuna and hundreds of bigeye trevally.

For a more tranquil setting, several bays around the island offer gently sloping terrain populated with fields of hard corals and colorful reef fish.

[15] As Narcondam is a small volcanic island, not connected to any significant land mass, terrestrial mammalian fauna is of low diversity.

[16] Introduced goats (Capra aegagrus hircus) and cats (Felis catus) were formerly present on the island, threatening native fauna, but almost all of them have since been removed.

The most common reptile on the island is the spotted forest skink (Sphenomorphus maculatus), which closely resembles populations of the species from northeast India.

The Andaman water monitor (Varanus salvator andamanensis) is the only large predator on the island and preys on the Narcondam hornbill, especially its young.

The lower hills following the shoreline have both deciduous and evergreen trees such as Terminalia catappa, T. bialata and Caryota mitis.

The Indian Coast Guard proposed the construction of a coastal surveillance radar installation on Narcondam Island and had requested for the release of 0.64 ha of forest area for the purpose.