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East Caicos
- East Caicos is the only large island in the Turks and Caicos that is uninhabited at the present time.
- It was certainly populated by the Taino Indians over 500 years ago; evidence of their occupation has been uncovered at both over-ground and underground locations. Particularly exciting is the presence of petroglyphs on the walls of a cave at the western end of the island.
- During the latter part of the 19th century a large sisal ranch was developed and a good deal of infrastructure built. This includes dwellings, roads, farm buildings, water catchment and storage tanks, a long jetty and even a donkey powered railway.
- Old anchors and a discarded canon can be found in shallow water near the island today.
- The wreck of the Spanish slave ship ‘The Trouvadore’ was rediscovered in 2008 along the northern reefs and is believed to have played an interesting role in the lineage of some Turks and Caicos Islanders.
- The two main areas where remnants of buildings can be seen are near Breezy Point on the north shore of the island and along the west coast in an area known as Jacksonville.
- There are miles of beautiful beaches all along the north and east coasts of the island.
- The southern half of the island is fascinating but fairly inaccessible. It is largely a wetlands area comprising of salt marsh and mangroves. It is impregnated by a large number of tidal channels and creeks. Some of this is protected under the international Ramsar convention.
- The interior of the island is relatively dry and comprises a mixture of dense bush and open scrub land.
- There are some impressive caves on the island that can be found by walking inland along what is left of the old railway embankment. Indeed the railway was established to facilitate the extraction of guano from the caves over 100 years ago. The caves have rarely been visited since. Read more about them in the cave section of this site.
- You can visit East Caicos with Amphibious Adventures as part of a hike along the donkey railway or island hopping adventure.
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