On-shore activities
Sites of natural beauty and historic significance can be found throughout the B.V.I. and exploring the islands can be both fun and educational.
TORTOLA
The J.R. O’Neal Botanic Gardens are a cool and peaceful refuge located in the centre of Road Town. The beautiful 4-acre garden includes a lush array of indigenous and exotic tropical plants. Main Street is Road Town’s primary shopping street. The narrow road, which runs through the centre of town, retains a great deal of West Indian charm with its colourful traditional wooden and stone buildings. Sights include the Sir Olva George’s Plaza and the 19th century Post Office. The VI Folk Museum houses a collection of Amerindian, Plantation era and Rhone artifacts.
Old Government House. Once the Governor’s residence, this stately early 20th century building is Sage Mountain National Park. At 1,780 feet, Sage Mountain is the B.V.I.’s highest point. The park is laid out with gravelled paths, and although it is not a true rain forest (it receives less than 100 inches of rain a year), the lush area possesses many of the characteristics of one.
The North Shore Shell Museum in Carrot Bay displays shells, shell craft, traditional wood boats and other examples of local culture.
Historic Ruins
Fort Burt once guarded the mouth of Road Harbour. It was constructed by the Dutch and later rebuilt by the English, who annexed the islands in 1672. Now a hotel, only the foundations and the magazine remain.
Fort Recovery, at the West End is the B.V.I.’s oldest intact structure. A turreted gun emplacement with three foot thick walls, it was built by the Dutch in 1660.
The William Thornton estate ruin, located in Pleasant Valley, was once the home of the designer of the U.S. Capitol Building. The Dungeon is a fort located halfway between Road Town and West End and was built in 1794 by the Royal Engineers. It was dubbed the Dungeon because of its underground cell.
The Church at Kingstown, just east of Road Town, is all that remains of a community of freed slaves established in 1833. Josiah’s Bay Plantation. This former rum distillery is now an art gallery.
Mount Healthy National Park, above Brewer’s Bay, features the intact remains of a thickly walled stone windmill, once part of an 18th century sugar plantation.
The Callwood Rum Distillery at Cane Garden Bay is housed in a stone plantation era building. The rum distillery still produces rum in much the same fashion that it did over two centuries ago. Shark Bay National Park above Brewer’s Bay has a short nature walk and look out.
VIRGIN GORDA
Little Fort National Park can be found south of the Yacht Harbour. It was the site of a Spanish fort and some stone walls remain. The 36- acre area is also a wildlife sanctuary.
Nail Bay contains ruins of a 19th century sugar plantation. The Coppermine was mined by Cornish miners between 1838 and 1867, and perhaps earlier by the Spanish. Today, the remains of the chimney, boiler house, cistern and mine shafts can be seen.
Gorda Peak National Park contains a wide variety of indigenous and exotic plants and has been reforested with mahogany trees. At 1,500 feet, it’s the island’s highest point.
OTHER ISLANDS
The RMS Rhone was a 310’ Royal Mail Ship that was dashed against the rocks off Salt Island’s southwest coast during an 1867 hurricane. Now a National Park, its remains have become a fascinating underwater habitat for marine life.
Cam Bay National Park is a nature preserve located on Great Camanoe. Prickly Pear island. This National Park in North Sound has a nature preserve.
Anegada is a coral atoll known for its miles of uninterrupted beaches surrounded by a reef.
Great Harbour, Jost Van Dyke. This village of picturesque wooden houses on a sandy beach is a page from a by-gone era.
Norman Island is the reputed setting for Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. The caves at the Bight are a popular snorkelling spot. Salt Island has three salt ponds and once a source of the seasoning for islanders and passing ships. Residents still harvest the salt for sale.
