Caribbean: The Lesser Antilles - Insight Guides (2016)
THE LESSER ANTILLES’S TOP 10 ATTRACTIONS
From the breathtaking scenery - which extends far beyond beaches of powdery white sand - to marine parks, turtle-watching, dockyards and dramatic forts.
Top Attraction 1
Pitons, St Lucia. The ultimate Caribbean landmark is spectacular from every angle. Twin volcanic peaks rise sheer out of the sea clad in a green mantle of forest with sparkling bays at their feet. For more information, click here.
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Top Attraction 2
Harrison’s Cave, Barbados. A huge, crystalized limestone cavern with passages, tunnels and massive chambers, filled with stalagmites and stalactites, pools, and streams, lit up for a spectacular tour on a little electric train. For more information, click here.
Barbados Tourism Authority
Top Attraction 3
Montserrat Volcano Observatory. Allows you a first-hand glimpse of nature’s devastating power, with views over the Exclusion Zone to the ash-covered former capital, Plymouth, and a fine scientific exhibition of the volcanic explosions. For more information, click here.
Monserrat Volcano Observatory
Top Attraction 4
Kurá Hulanda Museum, Curaçao. The region’s best museum, this private collection includes a moving permanent exhibition on the slave trade and African civilizations, housed in a courtyard where slave auctions were once held. For more information, click here.
Corbis
Top Attraction 5
Frigate Bird Sanctuary, Barbuda. Thousands of frigate birds nest on the tops of emerald green mangroves on Codrington Lagoon, the red pouches of the displaying males a delightful contrast to their fluffy white chicks. For more information, click here.
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Top Attraction 6
Waitukubuli Trail, Dominica. A project to integrate old trails into a network running from the south to the northern tip, touching east and west coasts, is now a shining example of community tourism. For more information, click here.
Alamy
Top Attraction 7
Nelson’s Dockyard, Antigua. The last surviving Georgian dockyard in the world is full of character, tucked into English Harbour, a safe haven for the British Navy in Nelson’s times and still popular with today’s sailors. For more information, click here.
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Top Attraction 8
Brimstone Hill Fortress, St Kitts & Nevis. This 17th-century British fort is the best preserved in the region, with stupendous views from its perch on a volcanic plug and cannon still facing out to sea. For more information, click here.
Pictures Colour Library
Top Attraction 9
The Baths, Virgin Gorda, BVI. Boulders the size of a house appear scattered like giants’ marbles on the beach, forming grottoes and pools for good swimming and snorkeling if not crowded with day-trippers. For more information, click here.
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Top Attraction 10
Night-time turtle watching. Many beaches attract hawksbill, Green, and giant leatherbacks in the egg-laying season, particularly on the eastern, Atlantic coasts of islands such as Dominica and St Lucia, and on the north coast of Trinidad. For more information, click here.