West Caicos

West Caicos has been uninhabited since the sisal industry that briefly occupied it collapsed early in the twentieth century, and the ruins of Yankee Town, with its rail bed, boiler and cistern, are still in the scrub. Lake Catherine at the centre is a nature reserve holding flamingos, and the island's rock iguanas survive here as they do on Little Water Cay. The reason most people come is the west wall: a drop-off in exceptional visibility that falls away steeply into very deep water, with sites along it that the Providenciales operators rate among the best in the territory.

What you actually see

• The west wall - a steep drop-off in exceptional visibility.
• Yankee Town - the ruined sisal settlement in the scrub.
• Lake Catherine - a flamingo reserve at the island's centre.
• Rock iguanas - surviving on the uninhabited island.

When to go

November to May is the calmest for the crossing and best for visibility. Humpbacks pass in the deep water offshore from January to April. Winter fronts blow this coast out for days at a time.

Honest expectations

There is nothing on the island: no facilities, no water, no shade. Landing is limited and much of the interior is reserve. A long-abandoned resort development left infrastructure that was never finished, which is visible and unsightly. Trips are cancelled often.

Nearby

Providenciales is 45 minutes east; French Cay is south.