Adamstown and Bounty Bay

Adamstown, perched on the green slopes of remote Pitcairn Island in the far South Pacific, is the only settlement and the capital of one of the least-populated territories on earth, home to just a few dozen people, most of them descendants of the mutineers of HMS Bounty and their Tahitian companions who settled here in 1790. Reached by clambering ashore through the surf at Bounty Bay, the tiny landing below the village, Adamstown is a scattering of homes, a church, a museum and a square amid lush greenery. The Bounty's anchor stands in the main square, the Bounty Bible is kept close by, and the museum's relics from the ship keep alive the extraordinary story of the mutiny and the community it founded. Isolated, welcoming and utterly unique, Adamstown is a living piece of maritime legend.

What you actually see

• Bounty Bay - the tiny surf landing below the village.
• The museum - the Bounty relics and mutiny story.
• The Bounty anchor - the ship's very anchor, displayed in the square.
• The village square - the heart of the world's smallest capital.

When to go

April to October, the cooler, drier season, brings the most settled weather and calmest seas for the challenging voyage and landing, avoiding the hotter, wetter months; the subtropical climate is mild year-round. Sea conditions are the key factor for reaching and landing on the island.

Honest expectations

Pitcairn is one of the most remote inhabited places on earth, reached only by a long sea voyage from Mangareva in French Polynesia and a surf landing, with a tiny population and minimal facilities, so visiting is a serious, carefully planned undertaking. As the world's smallest capital, home to the Bounty mutineers' descendants and rich in maritime legend, though, Adamstown is a genuinely unique and fascinating place.

Nearby

Christian's Cave and the island's cliffs and heritage sites lie nearby.