The Ladder of Saba

Until Saba built its harbour at Fort Bay in the 1970s, much of what reached the island came up the Ladder: some 800 steps cut down the cliffs to Ladder Bay, one of the island's two landing places, where boats landed pianos, provisions and passengers to be carried - on backs and heads - up towards The Bottom. The old customs house still marks the route, and today's hikers reverse history: descending the steps' switchback plunge to the rocky bay, contemplating the climb that awaits with every step down, then earning the island's favourite badge on the burning return. The views - cliffs, sea and The Bottom's red roofs - salve the calves throughout.

History

Amerindians of the Ceramic Era may have lived above the bay, and 17th-century pottery found there suggests the area was used in the early years of European settlement. From the 1650s until the 1970s Ladder Bay and Fort Bay were Saba's two main ports: cargo and people, famously even a piano, came up the steps of the Ladder and on by a footpath through The Gap to The Bottom; the Ladder in its present concrete form and the Customs House date from the 1930s, the pier at Fort Bay ended the bay's use in the 1970s, and Hurricane Maria damaged the lowest steps in 2017 (Wikipedia, Ladder Bay - Saba).

What you'll find

• The 800 steps - the hand-cut plunge to Ladder Bay.
• The customs house - the old gate for what was landed here.
• The bay's landing - where pianos met the island.
• The climb's views - cliffs and red roofs as anaesthetic.

When to go

December to May for dry steps; mornings beat the heat the climb manufactures. Sturdy shoes are the entire equipment list.

Practical notes

What goes down must climb 800 steps back - honest knees only; the bay is rocky rest, not a swimming reward. The trail-fee box funds the upkeep.

Nearby

The Bottom, Mount Scenery's separate stairway and Wells Bay.

Key facts