Cat Island

Mount Alvernia, at sixty-three metres, is the highest ground in the entire Bahamas, and on top of it sits the Hermitage: a stone monastery in miniature, built single-handed in the 1930s by Father Jerome, an English-born priest and trained architect who designed churches across the islands and then made himself a retreat at a scale where the chapel, the cloister and the cells are barely bigger than a person. He carved a stone stairway up the hill with the stations of the cross. He is buried beneath it. Cat Island is otherwise very quiet: long empty beaches, a rake and scrape music tradition, and few visitors.

What you actually see

• The Hermitage - a hand-built miniature monastery on the highest point.
• The stone stairway - carved stations of the cross up the hill.
• The beaches - long empty stretches on both coasts.
• Rake and scrape - the saw and goatskin drum music the island is known for.

When to go

December to May is the dry season. The Rake and Scrape Festival is held in June. Flights from Nassau are limited and a car is essential. Climb Mount Alvernia early or late; it is short but fully exposed.

Honest expectations

There is almost nothing here in the way of visitor infrastructure, with a few small hotels and very limited dining. Flights are infrequent. The Hermitage is small and takes twenty minutes, though the setting justifies the trip. Roads are rough in the south. This island suits people who want emptiness and nothing else.

Nearby

Eleuthera and Long Island are short flights away; Nassau is 45 minutes.