East Caicos travel guide

East Caicos has an area of 18 sq miles which makes it one of the largest islands, and Flamingo Hill, at 156 ft, is the highest point in the Turks and Caicos. A ridge runs along the north coast, but the rest of the island is swamp, creeks, mangrove and mudflats. Jacksonville, in the northwest, used to be the centre of a 50,000-acre sisal plantation and there was also a cattle farm at the beginning of the 20th century. The island is now uninhabited except for mosquitoes and wild donkeys. There is an abandoned railway left over from the plantation days and feral donkeys have worn paths through the scrub and sisal. Caves near Jacksonville, which were once mined for bat guano, contain petroglyphs carved on the walls and there is evidence of several Lucayan settlements. Splendid beaches include a 17-mile stretch on the north coast. Off the north coast, opposite Jacksonville, is Guana Cay, home to the Caicos iguana. There is no official transport to East Caicos, although people occasionally sail there.