Little Water Cay

Five minutes by boat from Providenciales' marinas, Little Water Cay - Iguana Island to everyone - is the stronghold of the Turks and Caicos rock iguana, a stocky, prehistoric-looking endemic that cats and dogs wiped from the settled islands. Two thousand or so remain here under National Trust protection, basking beside boardwalks built to keep human feet off their burrows, tilting their heads at visitors with the confidence of landlords. The cay itself is a pretty sliver of dune and mangrove edge, and nearly every snorkel and cay-hopping trip out of Leeward calls in.

What you actually see

• The rock iguanas - the endemic landlords basking beside the boardwalks.
• The boardwalk loops - dune and mangrove crossings built for the colony's sake.
• The beach sliver - the sand spit where boats nose in.
• The Leeward channel - the turquoise run between cay and Provo.

When to go

Year round; middays bring the most basking iguanas and the most boats - early trips get the cay quiet. December to May gives the settled seas for the crossing.

Honest expectations

Feeding the iguanas is prohibited and enforced for good reason - fed iguanas sicken and crowd the landing. Visits are short by design; this is a conservation site with a viewing privilege, not a beach day. The visitor fee funds the Trust - pay it cheerfully.

Nearby

Half Moon Bay's sandbar next door, Grace Bay and the Leeward marinas.