Discover the Caribbean’s Best-Kept Island Secret

Quick Summary

• Saba is a small, remote Caribbean island 28 miles from St. Maarten and five square miles in size with volcanic terrain and lush greenery.
• Known for its lack of beaches, high-rises, traffic lights, or crowds, the island historically attracted pirates due to its rugged coastline.
• Mount Scenery is a dormant volcano and the highest point in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, accessible via 1,064 stairs through cloud forests dense with mahogany trees and wild flora such as Giant Taro.
• The island features over 30 protected diving sites including seamounts and pinnacles that bring thriving marine biodiversity like sharks, whales, turtles, rays, coral reefs-and notable dive spots such as Third Encounter and Babylon. It also includes snorkeling-friendly waters like Torrens Point near Wells Bay’s shifting beach areas.
• Well-maintained hiking trails offer various experiences: Tidepools Trail highlights lava flows near ocean pools; Ladder Trail offers scenic ocean views along steep rock steps; Crispeen Trail takes hikers into Saba’s secondary rainforest enriched by fauna like tree frogs.

Images:
!Encounter with a sea turtle during diving in the sea near Saba
!Female scuba diver by anemone on coral reef seen at Torrens Point
!View of mount Scenery National Park on Saba Island

Read More

Indian Opinion Analysis
The case study of Saba underscores how remoteness can together create challenges while fostering unique opportunities for tourism centered around nature conservation alone-echoing certain lesser-known eco-tourism destinations within India such as Silent Valley National Park (Kerala). india’s natural reserves could similarly benefit from strategic promotion emphasizing untouched biodiversity alongside minimal human footprint to attract global adventure travel enthusiasts while preserving environmental integrity.

Saba also exemplifies leveraging ancient narratives-pirates/smugglers-to spark intrigue among visitors without compromising ecological sensibility in offerings ranging stone-carved paths forest immersion diving rich-choice models-xl offbeat