With nearly 750 marine species, divers and snorkelers are in for a treat discovering the treats beneath the South Atlantic. With 10 endemic marine species, 8 wreck dives and clear warm waters,
St Helena is a must visit destination for divers.
Diving and Marine
Walking and Hiking
St Helena’s capital Jamestown holds the island’s most popular walking challenge: Jacob’s Ladder. Walkers will stand against the 699 steps that transports you from Jamestown to Ladder Hill
moving out from the capital, walkers will come across the 21 post-box walks, that include walking treats such as Diana’s Peak, standing at the highest point of 823m above sea-level with a 360 degree view of the island; Lot’s Wife’s Ponds, a walk along the coastline of Sandy Bay ending in an array of ponds; Heart Shaped Waterfall, situated below the island’s only waterfall named so because of its inward facing cliff hangings that form the shape of a heart; and much more.
History and Heritage
St Helena is known for being the island in which Napoleon Bonaparte was exiled to in 1815. After spending 6 years on the island before his death in 1821, the Napoleonic experience in St Helena holds the Briar’s Pavilion, Longwood House and Napoleon’s Tomb. Other noted historical features include High Knoll Fort, built in 1798 for the East India Company, Plantation House; built as a country residence for the Governor of the East India Company and now the residence of the island’s current Governess, the Boer Cemetery and Camp and more.
The faintest flourish of green on the big blue canvas of the Atlantic Ocean, St Helena is one of our planet's truly lonely lands. But for intrepid travellers that's part of its eccentric charm. Napoleon Bonaparte spent his last days here in grumpy exile, but modern visitors maroon themselves deliberately, to enjoy wild walking trails, welcoming locals and wonderful wildlife encounters. It's not for nothing that St Helena is nicknamed the Galápagos of the South Atlantic; after 14 million years of isolation it boasts 500 endemic species and a coastline frequented by marine life including dolphins and whale sharks.
The journey used to be a 3100km, 5-day-each-way boat expedition from Cape Town aboard iconic RMS Saint Helena until thelong-awaited airport opened in 2016, but St Helena isn't expecting a revolution. Phone reception will remain a rumour, cars will still be brilliantly behind the times, and life will continue at a similar somnambulant pace to Jonathan, the giant tortoise that started tottering around the island shortly after Napoleon died.