Central Mangrove Wetland

The middle of Grand Cayman is not land in any ordinary sense but a very large mangrove wetland, thousands of acres of red and black mangrove sitting on peat, and it is what keeps the North Sound working: the nursery for the fish and conch, the filter for the water, and the buffer that takes the surge when storms come through. Much of it is difficult to enter at all.

What you actually see

• The mangrove forest - thousands of acres of red and black mangrove.
• The nursery function - the ground the sound's fisheries depend on.
• The storm buffer - the wetland that absorbs surge from the interior side.
• The channels - the waterways kayak tours work through on the edges.

When to go

December to April is the dry high season. Tours run from the North Sound edge. Mosquitoes are severe year round and worse after rain.

Honest expectations

Most of the wetland cannot be entered and what visitors see is the edge. Mosquitoes here are as bad as anywhere in the Caribbean. Development has taken a substantial share of the wetland over the years.

Nearby

The North Sound is north, and Camana Bay is west.