Yallahs Salt Ponds

The Yallahs ponds are two shallow lagoons cut off from the sea by a shingle bar on the Saint Thomas coast, and because evaporation exceeds what comes in, the water is considerably saltier than the sea. Salt-tolerant algae and bacteria give the water colour that shifts through the year, and waders and other birds feed along the edges. Salt was worked here commercially in the past. The road runs along the bar between the ponds and the sea.

What you actually see

• The hypersaline water - lagoons saltier than the sea behind the shingle bar.
• The colour - shifts caused by salt-tolerant algae through the year.
• The shingle bar - the ridge separating the ponds from the open sea.
• The birds - waders and herons feeding along the pond margins.

When to go

December to April is drier and the ponds are at their saltiest and most colourful. Heavy rain dilutes them and changes the colour. Morning light is best.

Honest expectations

There is no viewing area, no path and no facilities; it is a roadside stop. The colour is not always striking and depends on conditions. Stopping on the coast road is awkward.

Nearby

Yallahs town is alongside, and Judgement Cliff is inland.